


Even In Death

by IAmtheHiei



Category: Transformers - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon, Alternate Universe - Human, Angst, Drama, Drug Use, F/M, Genderbending, Implied/Referenced Suicide, M/M, Romance, Suicide Attempt
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-09-14
Updated: 2014-03-29
Packaged: 2017-12-26 13:39:56
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 24
Words: 31,478
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/966577
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/IAmtheHiei/pseuds/IAmtheHiei
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Based off of the RP that a friend and I have been doing for over two and a half years, taking a situation that happened and going in the opposite direction with it.<br/>She told me I should explain a few things, but sometimes I feel like it's just better to throw the readers in.<br/>However, if you do have some questions just ask and I'll do my best to answer.<br/>Wrote this during my first chemical dependency internship, so the angst level is pretty high. Also, implied suicide warning and attempted suicide.<br/>And yes, it is humanized.<br/>And yes, it will get darker.<br/>And it's obviously an AU.</p><p>I should also mention that each paragraph is actually a separate section that I wrote out in the notebook. So they're like separate chapters, it just seemed like they'd be too short to actually post as their own chapter, so I figured I'd post like three at a time until they start getting a bit longer. Therefore, the timeline may seem like it's jumping around at times. That's on purpose. It's supposed to feel scattered.</p><p>Starscream/Powerglide is my OTP and it is Lara's fault. Blame her.</p><p>Rating upped to Explicit at Chapter 15 since it's basically porn.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

The Seeker was devastated. Just this morning, everything had been fine...and now? Shattered. Completely ruined. Everything had fallen apart. And for what? A misunderstanding. A mistake. This wasn't supposed to happen. Someone was dead and it was all his fault. He was being dragged away and locked in a padded medbay room, sure to be "evaluated" and tested and prodded. Sure to have his mental state come under scrutiny before being dishonorably discharged by the Prime himself, thrown out of the base, or worse, given back to Megatron or sold back to Dylan. His contract wasn't up yet. The Seeker knew it was a distinct possibility. He finally stopped struggling and let the two medics pull him down the hallway and into medbay. Ratchet was trying to speak to him but his words meant nothing to the distraught Seeker and he couldn't reply, simply staring at the chief medic with tears streaking down his cheeks, leaving black lines in their wake. At least his screams had quieted to soft labored sobs, but he could hardly catch his breath. Ratchet was trying to explain something to him while a concerned Wheeljack rubbed his back, but the Seeker didn't understand, so he just nodded anyway. That was what they wanted right? They wanted him to comply. To submit. That was fine. Starscream didn't care anymore. He couldn't care about anything anymore. His life was over and he would never recover.

Ratchet eventually gave up trying to get a coherent response from the Seeker. It was clear that he was in shock and the blood covering his throat and arms was telling of his current mental state. They'd found him like that. Crouched and screaming in a pool of red. A knife in his hands, the other flyers lifeless body just feet in front if him. He'd tried...so hard...to follow his partner. And by all accounts he should have succeeded. Neither medic knew how he was still alive with that much bloodshed. And they were baffled by the fact that he had no sign of injuries. That was why they wanted to run tests. Figure out what was going in inside of him. But in this state, he was volatile. They'd had to call Ironhide in just to keep the Seeker from attacking them when they'd tried to retrieve the body. Starscream had cornered then both, at one point even pinning the younger of the medics. Ratchet was sure that the Seeker would have torn out their throats if not for Ironhides interference. He'd been growling with such animosity and his eyes had been filled with this fire...The elder medic had nearly thought he'd been staring at Unicron himself, and he distinctly remembered praying to Primus for help. They'd put enough sedative in him to knock out an elephant when Ironhide restrained him, but he was somehow still awake. Ratchet didn't know what to think. And as bad as he felt about Starscreams loss, in the back of his mind he remembered warning them both about the danger of their relationship.

Of course Ironhide followed them to the medbay. After seeing what had happened in that room, there was no way he was leaving their side. In the end, it had been up to him to carry Powerglide's body anyway. Morbid business. He shuddered as he saw the way Starscream's eyes followed him to the morgue, hearing the almost otherworldly wail of anguish emerging from the Seekers throat. The old soldier set the young flyers body down on an empty table and glanced over him. He did not see this coming. None of them did. At one point, he would have quite readily admitted that Powerglide would probably die of an overdose one day. But now? He shook his head. This couldn't have been intentional. Powerglide had been doing so well since he'd been with Starscream. They both had been doing so well. He'd been completely clean for months now and Ironhide had never personally seen him looking so happy. The same could be said for Starscream. There had been life in his eyes. Especially when they were together. And as weird as it was for Ironhide to admit, they'd been perfect for each other. Starscream kept Powerglide in line and gave him someone to show off to, and Powerglide kept Starscream relaxed and never failed to make him smile or laugh. He almost felt guilty for ever doubting them. And he felt worse because he'd heard the fight and did nothing, thinking they'd resolve it themselves. When Ratchet called him and he'd heard the screams, however, he knew the base wouldn't ever be the same again.


	2. Chapter 2

It didn't take long for Ratchet to call the other officers down. They had to know. And they had to figure out how to tell the rest of the base. Not only that, but, as tactless as it seemed right now, they needed to figure out what to do about Starscreams officer rank. In this state, he was NOT fit for duty. And he would not be for quite some time. That left them without an Air Commander. Prowl and Jazz followed the Prime into the medbay, hardly daring a glance at their broken Seeker. Ratchet moved to speak with them, Ironhide close behind, and that left Starscream with ample opportunity. He bolted from the bed they'd sat him on and ran straight to the morgue before anyone could do anything to stop him. Ratchet was about to rush in and pull Starscream out, but the Prime just gripped the medics shoulder and shook his head. Starscream had to be allowed to mourn. If he wasn't, then he would likely never get past this loss. And Optimus wasn't about to punish someone for screaming their spark out in grief. He knew Starscream couldn't harm himself, try though he might, so the only thing the Autobot leader saw fit to do was allow the young Seeker his time to mourn. Jazz did follow though. He had no intention of disturbing Starscream, but he had to be sure he'd be alright. His spark nearly broke, however, when he entered the morgue and saw Starscream, sitting on the table with his partner draped across his lap, holding him tightly and pleading with Powerglide not to leave him alone.

Sunstreaker had been in the rec room when they dragged the screaming Seeker past. He could only stare in shock. Starscream was covered in blood. And if that wasn't enough, the sight of Ironhide carrying Powerglides lifeless body after him certainly was. His spark seemed to freeze for a moment. This was not what he'd intended at all! No one was supposed to die! If anyone found out what he'd done... The blonde Autobot shook his head, forcing out those thoughts. All he'd done....ALL HE'D DONE, was try to break them up. Their relationship was a joke anyway, right? And it wasn't right for someone to date their Commanding Officer. He convinced himself that this wasn't his fault. What he did was right. Starscream would have cheated on him eventually anyway. All Sunstreaker did was hurry the process along. Powerglide had every right to see those videos. EVERY RIGHT! Even if they were from before they dated...whatever. Sunstreaker didn't think keeping secrets in a relationship was a good idea anyway. But shit, if they find out he'd sold the drugs to Powerglide...Sunstreaker swallowed nervously, quickly finishing his energon and hurrying back to his room. He had to get rid of his stash. Destroy all evidence. And even though he was convinced he was in the right, he still couldn't manage to get the Seekers horrified screams out of his head...

Optimus had been in his office when the call came through. By all accounts, it had been a slow day, so the Autobot leader figured Ratchet just wanted to talk about weekly reports or something. Instead, what the Chief Medic told him made him nearly drop his commlink in shock. Soon after, he and his two top officers were in the medbay. Once Ratchet had finished speaking, the Autobot leader moved over to where Jazz was standing, spark reaching out for Starscream as he observed their youngest officer begging Powerglide to take him with. That was when the word "Allspark" was heard. Wheeljack's suggestion. An excellent idea, if not for the fact that it was in Megatron's possession still. Optimus sighed and shook his head. It was too much of a risk to try and retrieve it. Starscream apparently thought otherwise, however, and suddenly appeared behind the Autobot leader, startling Optimus for a moment when he spoke up and demanded they retrieve it. They tried to talk him down. Tried to talk some sense into him, but he wasn't having it, and Optimus' gut told him that they would have to forcefully detain the Seeker lest he do something stupid. So he ordered it. Starscream was not to leave the base, nor was he to leave the medbay, without the Prime's consent. Of course, this caused a fit from the Seeker, who started cursing and screaming at them for their apparent lack of caring that the only person he loved, and yes, he used the word "love", was dead. Optimus took the verbal abuse. He could tolerate it when Starscream was in so much pain. It didn't last long anyway, since, soon enough, Ironhide forced the Seeker into a padded medbay room and locked the door, leaving them all to an uncomfortable silence.


	3. Chapter 3

Knockout was in complete shock when he'd heard what happened. Sure, he and Starscream hadn't exactly ended on the best terms, and yes, he did resent Powerglide for being what Knockout referred to as the "rebound fling", but that had all been the pain of jealously rearing its ugly head. Over time, that hatred had lessened, and Knockout had even made amends with the two of them. Still, he found himself feeling more and more guilty when Ironhide told him he'd heard the two flyers fighting only hours earlier...and that he'd heard Powerglide screaming at Starscream for cheating on him, though Starscream kept insisting that he never had. ...Sunny had borrowed the video earlier in the day and Knockout's instincts were telling him that had something to do with it. Starscream never did find out about the night his addiction took over and Knockout took advantage, taping it for himself to watch later. Sunstreaker had borrowed it before though, insisting that it was because Starscream looked like a femme from behind and had a fantastic ass, and that Mikaela had trashed his porn collection when they dated. So Knockout hadn't thought anything of it this time, even throwing Sunny a bottle of lotion to go with it. Now Sunny wasn't even answering his comm, and the pit in the former Decepticon's stomach was growing. He would have to assist in medbay and he found himself dreading it. But he couldn't say no. It would look suspicious. So he went to work, heading in to help however he could and pretending to be alright, if a little worried. He froze in front of the door to the locked room though, spark practically freezing when he saw Starscream's bloodshot eyes through the small window, staring accusingly back at him.

Starscream's mind was so frenzied that he hardly realized he was staring. He kept going over the events in his head. Over and over. Trying to understand what had happened, and trying to comprehend what was happening now. He'd done nothing wrong, yet they'd screamed at each other. He never once cheated on the other flyer, yet Powerglide had used words like "whore" and "slut" in his rage. Starscream didn't understand. They'd been helping each other! Powerglide was helping him feel again, and he was keeping the other clean. Something about a video had been mentioned, but the Seeker didn't know what that was. Powerglide had gotten rid of his drugs just for Starscream, yet he was dead of an overdose. Starscream had found him when he'd gone to the flyer's room to fix things. Found him lying there, lying there completely still, and a needle on the floor only inches away. Powerglide hadn't had any drugs. He would have had to seek them out. And it made the Seeker wonder if he was really so awful that Powerglide would overdose just to get away from him. The thought was so irrational, and yet his mind kept telling him that very thing. This was Starscream's fault. And he couldn't even follow. Anyone would have tried to convince him otherwise, but the Seeker's thoughts had always turned inward and he had a terrible habit of turning against himself. It was his fault Powerglide hated him. It was his fault Powerglide relapsed. And it was his fault Powerglide was dead. While these thoughts recycled themselves over and over in his mind, he didn't even register an extremely guilty-looking Knockout standing frozen in front of his door and watching, with a look on his face that made it seem as though he'd killed somebody.

It was the end of that hellish day and Prowl couldn't sleep. It wasn't as though he was actually trying to though. He was still in the surveillance room, watching video from earlier in the day of Powerglide and Starscream walking the halls, looking as happy as could be, then fast-forwarding to the evening hours and seeing them fighting as Powerglide shoved the Air Commander out of his room. The difference between the two sets of footage was astounding. He rewound it and watched again. At one point, the video clearly showed them kissing, Powerglide hardly able to take his hands off the Seeker to allow him to head to his lab for work. And the other? Prowl shook his head. The look on Starscream's face in the other tape broke Prowl's spark. He'd had no idea why he was being yelled at. At once point between the two tapes, Powerglide had left his room, likely to go for a walk outside. It was something he usually did while the Air Commander was working. Unfortunately though, they didn't have cameras all around the perimeter of the base, and virtually none around the walking trail. The Second in Command found himself wondering what had happened while the flyer was out, because when the cameras saw him wandering back, he had a look of pure anger on his face. Prowl sighed, a cube of energon in his hand that he sipped at. It was beginning to look more and more as though someone had set this up and planned to break them up. But had they planned on causing a death as well?


	4. Chapter 4

Ratchet had spent much of the next few days trying to get the Seeker to say something. Anything. Just one slagging word! But as of yet, he'd yielded no results. It appeared as though Starscream hadn't slept a wink. He'd stopped crying though. Stopped throwing a fit. Now, on the fifth day, he was just sitting, huddled in the corner, staring off in a stupor. Ratchet was concerned. Not that he hadn't already been, mind you, but Starscream hadn't been sleeping, hadn't been speaking, and refused to refuel either through energon or human food. The Seeker had never been mentally the healthiest. The Chief Medic was afraid they were getting close to a full-blown psychotic break. Ratchet swallowed nervously when the younger man's eyes didn't even register his movements. He looked weak, gaunt. They needed to refuel him. He called Ironhide into the room via his commlink and instructed him to bring a nutritional IV, not taking his eyes off of Starscream the entire time. Ironhide did so, locking the door as he entered. Ratchet told him the situation. Told him what they needed to do, and the old soldier agreed. Starscream may have once been a top-ranking Decepticon official, but over the time he'd spent here, they'd grown close in a way, and Ironhide wasn't going to let this destroy all the progress they'd made. Right now, they weren't sure what he might do though, so Ironhide was going to be the one to restrain him while the medic inserted the IV. The Weapons Specialist moved close, reaching out to pull the Seeker into hold, but as soon as he grabbed Starscream, he let out a yell of pain and let go, steam rising from his hands. Ironhide stared down at his hands, then over at Ratchet increduously. Starscream....Starscream had burned him!

Ironhide winced while Ratchet disinfected his hands and wrapped them. The medic kept going on and on about how it wasn't physically possible for the Seeker to have caused those burns, but they'd both seen it, and Ratchet was so confused. Ironhide knew what was happening though. he narrowed his eyes. Unicron. The old soldier had spend the last few months pretending he didn't know. Pretending he wasn't scared to death for the young Seeker. He wasn't supposed to know. Only ever since Starscream had come to him asking questions about bucket lists and playing it off like some morbid curiosity, he'd been suspicious. And the higher-ups had been unusually quiet. And the Seeker had been absent much more than normal. Eventually, he began to snoop for answers, and answers he did find one day while Jazz and Prowl apparently thought they were alone. A whole slagload of answers. Anyone else would have laughed it off, but Ironhide never laughed at religion. This was real. And it explained so much of what went on in that damned Seeker's life. Ironhide eventually stood once Ratchet was done with him, and made it known that he wanted to speak to the Seeker alone. The medic could protest all he wanted; Ironhide would have his way. He didn't especially expect results anyway, judging by the last few days. The old soldier entered the room and shut the door behind him before carefully approaching the Seeker. "Starscream," he called softly, drawing ever closer until he was right in front of the other. He knelt down to stare at the nonrespondant Seeker, noticing how much hotter the air was around him and the blank look in his eyes. He drew a shaky breath. "U...Unicron," he tried this time.

The Seeker's eyes flashed orange and he turned his head to stare at the Autobot, lips curling upward into a cold grin before he spoke. A second voice seemed to accompany the Seeker's own, their unison making Ironhide's blood run cold with fear. "Why would you approach me, peasant of Primus?"

 

Powerglide. He was standing right there. Starscream blinked. But...that was impossible! He gazed up at the flyer through wide red eyes. This had to be a trick of some kind. He almost tried to call Ironhide and Ratchet back into the room, but stopped himself when his fallen partner knelt down before him and reached out to caress the Seeker's cheek with the back of his hand. Starscream's breath hitched and he leaned into the touch. Powerglide moved closer, the same dopey grin plastered on his face that he always had for the Seeker and he rubbed his nose against Starscream's. Their gesture. It WAS Powerglide. "Come with me," he murmured against the others lips, locking eyes with the Air Commander, both hands firmly gripping Starscreams.

Starscream nodded, thoroughly entranced. "I...I want to," he replied, spark pulsing rapidly," but you know I can't." But FRAG how he wanted to.

"You can," Powerglide insisted. "You can." That was when Unicron appeared. The Seeker tensed in fright, but it soon washed away when Powerglide's fingers started digging into his muscles. "Lord Unicron is offering us an eternity together, Starscream," the flyer explained.

The Seeker shook his head and narrowed his eyes. He wasn't stupid. "This has to be a trick. We both know I will fade into nothingness the second he takes over."

Unicron snorted then. "This is no trick, mortal. I only require use of your body and frankly, I tire of the meddling all of you are doing on behalf of my brother to thwart my efforts. Your mother made the deal that sealed your fate long ago. You belong to me. Quit delaying the inevitable. This one," he pointed to Powerglide, "I plucked from the depths of the Pit to bring to you. I would suggest that you not look the gifthorse in the mouth, as your silly mortal saying goes. It would be much less energy consuming to take a willing subject, so I came to make you an offer: You willingly shed your mortal shell and allow me control of it, and I allow you and your partner to spend your eternity outside of the Pit, outside of the Well, outside of anywhere anyone can find you."

It was a lot to consider. Starscream obviously had to think about it. He'd be leaving so much behind, but...Powerglide's big blue eyes were calling his spark home. "Deal," he said.

Powerglide smiled and grabbed his hand, pulling him right out of his body and into a deep, passion-filled kiss before they dissipated and Unicron settled into his new shell, just as Ironhide entered the room, this time alone.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is a lot lighter than the other ones. Can't overload on angst without a break sometimes. Don't worry, we get back to the dark shit next chapter.
> 
> Also, introducing a new couple to the story (can't just focus on one crack pairing the whole time).
> 
> Thanks for reading :3

Ironhide could hardly breathe when the Chaos-Bringer spoke through the Seeker's mouth. "But you...you're..." He shook his head. "Where is Starscream?" 

Unicron kept the same grin. "Starscream isn't here." 

"Where is he?!" 

"He isn't here." 

Ironhide could see that this was going nowhere and it likely wouldn't do to lose his temper. "...Will he come back?" 

Unicron snorted and crossed his arms, Starscream's arms, rather. "No." 

Ironhide's spark sank. "Well...wherever he is...can I save him?" 

Unicron let out an irritated growl. "Your incessant questioning regarding your lost Seeker annoys me, Mortal! Get out!" He pointed at the door, clawlike nails already starting to form.   
Ironhide flinched at the flash of heat that seemed to fill the room along with Unicron's anger and quickly left, determined to return at a later time for more answers.

Back inside the room, Unicron was having trouble maintaining control and the spark within Starscream's chest was pulsing furiously. Of course. That blasted mutation. He would have to be careful or the body would reject him. He forced the body into a recharge, determined not to lose control.

 

Elsewhere on base, Soundwave had pulled out his keyboard and was playing something for his lovely Slipstream while she sat nearby and sketched out some clothing ideas in her notepad. They weren't alone, however, Powerglide was quite expertly leading Starscream in a dance at the other end of the room. Soundwave raised an eyebrow at the couple, rather impressed. "I never knew your brother danced so well, Slipstream," he commented as he continued to play. Though it did make sense, he supposed. Starscream had always been rather light on his feet in combat. 

She looked up and frowned in the direction he was staring. "What are you talking about, Soundwave? Starscream's been in medbay since Powerglide killed himself..." 

Soundwave's fingers slamming on the keyboard was the only response she got as he rushed from the room in a panic. He skidded to a halt in the medbay, demanding to see the Seeker. Ratchet let him into the room and the telepath rolled Starscream onto his back, gasping at what he saw. Starscream was alive, yes. But his eyes were pitch black and he was empty. Starscream wasn't there at all.

"WHAT?!" Slipstream's eyes were wide and she could hardly breathe, gripping Soundwave's shoulders in shock at the news. "How...when..." Her eyes started to tear up. "What do you mean he's dead?!" 

Soundwave shook his head. "I didn't say that. He's alive, but his soul appears to have been released from his body-" 

Slipstream let out a choked sob, interrupting the telepath. 

Starscream and Powerglide were still standing nearby, watching Soundwave give the femme an anxiety attack. Starscream shook his head. "Nice." 

Powerglide had stolen some snacks from the kitchen area and was eating them. "Yeah, way to be a douchebag and freak her out, Soundwave," he said between munches. 

The telepath growled and glared at them. "This is your fault. Especially yours!" He pointed at Starscream. "You clearly had a choice in the matter! This doesn't just happen!" 

Starscream just pursed his lips and narrowed his eyes. "Well your bedside manner is still lacking." 

Slipstream sniffed a little. "Who're you talking to?" she asked sadly, barely managing to hold back tears. 

The telepath sighed. "Your brother and Powerglide have decided to join us; the latter apparently eats just as much in the afterlife as well." 

The femme cocked her head and Soundwave rubbed his face. "Here." He grabbed her hand and focused his abilities on her until he felt her tense up. 

Starscream raised an eyebrow at the shocked look on his sister's face. "She...can see us...can't she." 

Powerglide nodded as he continued to slowly shovel the stolen food into his mouth, watching the femmes face go through just about every emotion imagionable. This was either going to go very well....or become very violent...

Slipstream's face finally settled on an emotion: rage, and she let go of Soundwave's hand.   
It took a great deal of the telepath's concentration to help her continue to see the two spirits as the femme stormed towards them and angrily grabbed a vase from a nearby table.   
Starscream wisely dove behind the piano to avoid his sister's wrath. 

"Oh, please," Powerglide scoffed, continuing to munch on his snacks, "We're freaking gho-OW! HEY! WHAT THE HELL!" The vase collided and shattered over his head. 

"She's in tune with us right now, you idiot! Starscream called to him. "Just like Soundwave!" 

Oh. Slag." Powerglide was just rubbing his poor head when the femme bent him back over the table and violently shook him. 

"WHY DID YOU DO IT?!" she screamed in his face. "WHY DID YOU DO THAT TO MY BROTHER, HUH?!" WHY DID YOU KILL YOURSELF!?" 

Powerglide flinched under her screams but just looked confused. "What?" 

"ANSWER ME!" She shook him harder. 

"Woah. Hey. HEY!" Powerglide brought his hands up to get her to stop. "Enough. What're you gonna do, shake me to death?" 

Starscream, who was standing by now, groaned and rolled his eyes as he made his way over. 

The femme just growled. 

"Look. I didn't kill myself, alright? I wouldn't do that. Never was the angsty sort. That was always more Starscream's thing." He grinned at the Seeker, who was standing behind the femme. 

Starscream rolled his eyes again and wrapped his arms around his sister to gently pull her off the other flyer. "Oh, ha ha. Aren't you just a riot today. I see you grew a pair since you died too. Asshole." He turned his attention to Slipstream, who still seemed shaken. "It wasn't a suicide. It was an unintentional overdose." 

She stared up at him and wrapped her arms tightly around him. "Come back..." 

He sighed. "I can't." 

She squeezed tighter still. "Why?" 

"Not going anywhere without Powerglide," he murmured. 

"Even in death?" 

He nodded. "Even in death." 

She sighed and let go of him. "What about the Allspark?" She figured there was more to this but she could see that it was draining on Soundwave so she figured she'd hurry. 

Starscream shrugged. "Megatron has it. Prime says he isn't willing to risk going after it." 

She nodded. "Will I see you again?" 

Powerglide piped up then. "Sure, I mean...we can visit every so often and like, haunt you and shit if you like." 

Slipstream giggled. "I would. You two stay safe. And, Powerglide, sorry about the, uh..." She pointed at her head. 

The flyer just shrugged it off. "No biggie. I'll live. OR WILL I???" He made his voice echo and used spooky hand gestures. 

Starscream groaned. "Let's just go." He grabbed the other and they vanished. 

Slipstream broke the link and helped Soundwave to his feet. 

"How was it?" the telepath asked hesitantly, rubbing his eyes tiredly. 

"It was good," she replied, making some tea. "I mean...I'm sad...seeing him...them both...go, but they really did look like they were at peace for once." And she supposed she could live with that.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In this chapter: Ironhide is ballsy, Soundwave is nosy, and Starscream is ungrateful.
> 
> So basically, everyone is in character.

Soundwave was happy that Slipstream seemed to accept her brother's decision. Though it probably helped somewhat that Starscream hadn't revealed much about his own departure into the spirit realm. Soundwave wasn't so easily swayed, however. He knew this had to do with the very reason he was brought back to life. There was no other explanation for the Seeker's body to remain otherwise alive. He decided to wait and monitor the situation for a few days, periodically checking medbay and finding that the state of the body hadn't changed much at all. He did think it curious, however, that he repeatedly saw Ironhide making excursions in and out of the room, a datapad in hand. The telepath wondered what concern the old soldier had for the Seeker and secretly followed on this latest trip.

 

Ironhide had never made his devotion to the temple of Primus a secret, and his spirituality only seemed to get stronger after Chromia's death. So of course this concerned him. There were only two copies of the Covenant in existence. Prime supposedly had one, but claimed to have misplaced it. The other was apparently in the hands of Alpha Trion. If Alpha Trion even still functioned. Luckily, the archievers on Cybertron had the forethought to document most of the Covenant's teachings to datapad. Especially lucky considering the human voice could not speak the Cybertronian tongue. Ironhide had been spending the last few days speaking rough translations to the Seeker, but an audio transcript would be perfect. Not that he hadn't seen improvement. The Seeker's body temperature and the air of the room felt much more normal since he'd started, but Ironhide thought maybe this would be more effective. He locked the door behind him, unaware that Soundwave was listening right outside. Then he sat in front of the Seeker, pulled out the datapad, and pressed play.

 

Starscream and Powerglide were enjoying their eternity together watching the sunset on one of several beaches Powerglide wanted to visit and enjoying the calmness of it as they lay back in the sand. That was when Starscream frowned and sat up, clutching at his chest. Something was wrong. "Powerglide..." he started to say. The other opened one eye and glanced over before jumping up in shock. There was a glowing blue light pulsing in the Seeker's chest. They couldn't have! He reached for Starscream but it was too late. It seemed almost as though some sort of vacuum opened up and the Seeker vanished, leaving the stunned flyer all alone.Starscream opened his eyes then, looking around the white padded room and up into the relieved eyes of Ironhide.

 

As soon as the ancient Cybertronian dialect started playing, Starscream's body began convulsing. Unicron's eyes flew open, enraged as he turned to glare at the Autobot. "CEASE AT ONCE, MORTAL!" he bellowed angrily. The cracking of bones was plainly heard. 

Ironhide was unsure if it was bones breaking or stiff joints. Either way... "No. You cannot take him, Unicron!" 

The Dark God made a disgusted sound. "He gave himself to me. He welcomed death." 

Ironhide refused to listen and continued playing the audio. He'd dug through thousands of old archive files to find the dusty parts of the Covenant concerning the darker subjects; but he knew they were there. The old soldier felt mildly uncomfortable watching the struggle though. It seemed like it was just getting more and more violent with the Seeker's voice echoed in with the chaotic screams of the Dark God. Just when he thought Starscream's body couldn't take it anymore, there was a loud SNAP and a burst of flames and everything went silent, the room filled only with the sounds of the audio file, which Ironhide quickly turned off, before hurrying closer in a panic, so sure that sound had been Starscream's neck snapping or something. He could only let out a loud sigh of relief when Starscream's eyes fluttered open, back to their normal bright red, and flicking around the room in confusion. 

Starscream seemed utterly lost. "...What?" was all he could manage to get out, but it was all that Ironhide needed. 

"You're back home, Twiggy," he said, pulling the Seeker to a sitting position. "Brought you back from the dead, so to speak." 

Starscream stared at him like he was crazy before seeing Powerglide appear a few feet away, arms crossed and staring back at him in confusion. "But...Powerglide?" The Seeker frowned. 

Ironhide sighed and shook his head. "Not unless we get the Allspark, kid." 

"Then WHY would you bring me back?!" he demanded. It seemed as though his pain receptors were kicking in again as well because the damage Unicron had done was causing pain from even the slightest of movements. 

Ironhide tried not to look too insulted and was about to say something he'd regret, when Soundwave unlocked the door and intervened. 

"It would be unwise to insult the Seeker's departed lover or the Chaos Bringer when they are both standing in this very room," he advised calmly.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In this chapter: Shit goes down. Hidden Saints Row 4 reference. And character death!

Powerglide was straight. In the human world, that was the norm. On Cybertron, however, heterosexuality was more of a minority. That is not to say that it was considered "taboo" or in some way "unequal". It didn't really matter either way. The simple fact was that the Cybertronians considered themselves a gender neutral race and could reproduce with any willing partner. Mech frames outnumbered femme frames, therefore "same sex" partnerships were much more commonplace. Some mechs, like Powerglide, just happened to have more of an appreciation for the femme frame. Optimus, Ironhide, and Sunstreaker were the same way. That was why it was interesting that Powerglide found himself in an extremely committed relationship with another mech. Though, if you asked him, he'd probably tell you that Starscream was the hottest fragging male he'd ever seen. The flyer wasn't sure how it would work on Cybertron, but here on Earth, he never wanted to let that Seeker out of his sight. Starscream made him feel so alive. It was no wonder he'd made that deal with Unicron. He'd seen the pressure of the entire situation weighing down on Starscream and it wasn't fair. He knew they'd been tricked into fighting and he was tired of it. Starscream shouldn't have to put up with something he didn't ask for in the first place, just like he shouldn't have had to deal with the others on base, harassing him all the time and telling him they'd never work, or trying to get him to agree to let them sleep with HIS partner. If he'd known this was what he was going to have to put up with in the first place, he never would have- no, scratch that.  
Powerglide sighed, sadness evident on his face as he watched Ironhide trying to calm the distraught Seeker. Unicron hadn't reappeared yet, though his presence could be felt in the room. He doubtless would once Primus' minions left. That was when Soundwave cornered him and shoved him against the wall. "Do you even comprehend the problems you've caused?!" 

Powerglide calmly stared back at him. "I'd do it all again. He deserves better than this."

"He deserves better than YOU!" Soundwave snarled, shaking the flyer and slamming him even harder into the wall. 

Ironhide looked up then. "The frag are you doing, Soundwave!?"

Starscream's eyes narrowed at the telepath and he began to growl. By now, Soundwave had figured out how to allow others to see the spirits without draining himself, figuring it would be useful for Slipstream, so he sent a blast of psychic energy Ironhide's way.  
The old soldier's eyes widened when he saw the flyer. "You slagger! You know how much fragging trouble you've caused?!"

"So bring him back!" Starscream demanded.

"They won't." Powerglide's eyes narrowed as Soundwave held him steady against the wall. "What am I, Starscream? I'm nothing to them. I'm no officer, I'm no medic, and I'm no decorated war hero. I'm not related to the Prime and I'm not someone's bondmate." For that, he certainly earned a nasty look from Ironhide. "I don't have a 'special telepathic link to Primus'." Soundwave might have shaken him a little extra for that as well. "I'm a fucking frontline soldier. The only thing exceptional about me is that I served under you. You're the only reason we have a competent fleet. Before that? I was a raging addict. I am cannon fodder. No one is going to risk running into the Decepticon base to steal the Allspark to save me."

Starscream tried to get up, to rush over to him, but Ironhide held him down. Soundwave seemed to want to keep them separated. The Seeker just stared at his lover hopelessly. "...I would..."

Powerglide could only manage a sad smile. "I know you would, Star, but you're far too important to them."

Starscream's spark pulsed. "Soundwave, let him go!" 

Soundwave grunted. "Can't yet. We're waiting."

Ironhide raised an eyebrow. "Waiting? For what?" He was having mixed emotions keeping them separated. The old soldier kept thinking back on how he'd felt when Chromia died. Sure, Powerglide's selfishness, or just plain stupidity, was causing a lot of problems, but this was REAL pain he was seeing, and he knew that he himself would give anything just to be with his own bondmate again. So these two weren't bonded...but did that really matter?"

"Prime is off base at the moment, but on his way," Soundwave replied, "Once here, we will summon Primus." He looked to Powerglide. "Primus will decide what to do with you." 

Starscream froze upon hearing that. "What?" he asked desperately.

Even Ironhide hadn't expected it. "...Is that really necessary, Soundwave?" 

The telepath ignored them, continuing to stare down the now-petrified flyer's spirit. "I told her repeatedly," he murmured so only the flyer could hear. "Over and over I said 'Don't let them get together'." He sighed and rolled his eyes. "She can't be entirely to blame, I suppose. She is a femme, and he is her brother." 

Powerglide blinked a few times. "S...Slip...stream?"

Soundwave nodded. "Before you were 'together', you were fucking him everyday like it was some sort of game, and it was making Unicron stronger. I told her a relationship would end in disaster. And just look at this!"

Powerglide glared at the other. "What do you know?! I helped him! I helped him get through his sex addiction, I helped him feel alright with himself again, I helped him get back to a healthy weight, I helped him smile again! None of you assholes on base ever managed that! And he got me clean!"

"You also sold him out to Unicron at the expense of this entire planet!" Soundwave snarled, slamming him against the wall again. "Just wait, Powerglide; seven billion dead thanks to your 'help'. Aren't you such a fucking saint!"

Powerglide glared right back. "I did NOT sell him out! He had a choice! And this planet is NOT our problem! So put my spark in the Pit, I don't care! Unicron will just dig it out again. All I want is to see Starscream happy! He thought he'd finally found freedom on this base, but from where I'm standing, you assholes have taken complete control." 

Soundwave almost sneered at the flyer's hubris. Clearly Starscream's influence had rubbed off on Powerglide. "The Pit? Is that what you think?" He snorted. 

Ironhide looked alarmed by now. If that wasn't the plan, what was? Surely Primus would understand why this happened...

"What's going to happen to me?" Powerglide asked, suddenly in a very small voice.  
The telepath rolled his eyes. "I always wondered why Starscream didn't date someone smarter." A low-blow, really. "Primus will deal with you," he replied vaguely.

"What's he going to do, Soundwave?!" Ironhide finally broke in.

Soundwave sighed. "The likely course of events will be that Primus will simply destroy his spark energy. He will cease to be on any plane of existence."

Starscream began to breathe very heavily, panicking.

Ironhide's eyes widened. "He can do that?!"

Soundwave shrugged. "In extreme cases, yes. Powerglide's spark went rogue, and he made a deal with Unicron, putting not just this planet in danger, but potentially everyone else."

"No!" Starscream began to struggle against Ironhide's grip. "You can't! Please don't!"

Soundwave looked back to him. "Starscream, calm yourself. You'll be better for this. I'll alter your memory for you. You'll have a fresh start."

"Shut up! I don't want my memory altered! I don't want anything different! I just want to be with him!"

Soundwave sighed. "You can't have that."

"Slipstream would be ashamed if she saw you doing this right now," Powerglide interrupted.

Soundwave could only tighten his grip on the flyer in anger. "Prime has returned to base. He is stopping at his office to grab the Matrix before coming here. Just a moment longer.

"I love him, Soundwave," Starscream ground out, only for the telepath to ignore it. Starscream would get over it eventually. That was when the air in the room began to shift. Unicron wouldn't make another attempt right now...surely... The Seeker's breathing had picked up and Soundwave detected a surge of dark energy emitting from him. 

"Ironhide...do NOT let go of him," Soundwave instructed. The old solder nodded and physically sat on the Seeker's lap to pin him, before grabbing the datapad again and once more playing the audio transcript from the Covenant. Perhaps it would help. They just had to hold out til Optimus got there anyway. Starscream was staring past Ironhide the whole time, right at Powerglide, who was staring right back with this excited look on his face. He knew exactly what was happening. Soundwave had a terrible feeling. He looked back. The Seeker's eyes had changed to a solid orange, pupils and whites no longer visible. "Ironhide," the telepath said.

The old soldier glanced over. "Yeah?"

Starscream's nails were replaced with claws. A sword seemed to materialise on the ground in his hand. Unicron was NOT pleased. At least the old soldier wouldn't see it coming. 

"You know Chromia's been watching you the whole time, right?"

Ironhide raised an eyebrow. Was Soundwave trying to force some kind of male bonding cliche on him? "Uh...what?" He cocked his head; the perfect angle. Unicron gripped the sword and raised it, bringing it down and lopping Ironhide's head cleanly off. Soundwave cringed. At least it was quick. Unicron stood then and flung Starscream from his body, the Seeker immediately grabbing Powerglide and disappearing in a whirlwind of fire before Soundwave could stop them. That left the telepath alone with the Dark God. He backed against the door and slammed the panel to open it, nearly backing over the Prime in his haste. Optimus almost questioned his hurry when he saw the inside of the room and paled. They locked it. Like that would stop Unicron. Luckily, he had the Matrix with him. Soundwave focused his energy, creating a barrier around the room and drawing power from the Matrix while Optimus did all he could to try and summon Primus for help. Any control they thought they had was lost. Any structured plan they'd had was lost. All hope was lost. It seemed they were, as the human's liked to say, fucked.


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In this chapter: The dangers of dating one's direct superior.

Starscream had done his best to balance his work and his relationship. He knew being with Powerglide was a near constant topic of gossip amongst the Autobots, but he tried not to let it bother him too much. Really, it was to be expected. Coming from the Decepticons, he'd already had quite the reputation, and even when he was over there, stories always seemed to go around about his sexual exploits. This time was different though...this time it was directly affecting his partner. The Seeker knew dating someone under his Command was risky, but it was well worth the risk. So long as he didn't show favoritism towards Powerglide, things would be fine. Starscream soon found out just how difficult that could be at times however. In the time before Powerglide's overdose, the Seeker had had to brig him at least have a dozen times, each time for fighting. And each time it was because some idiot on base decided it would be a good idea to give the flyer a hard time about his relationship, or insinuate in some way that Powerglide ought to "share" his partner with them. Powerglide's temper since going clean had shortened significantly, and by the last incident, he'd done enough damage to various areas of the base via his antagonists face through the surface, that Starscream was just starting to flat-out pay the Prime for it.

 

The last incident had occurred a week before their fight. The flyers had just finished their training exercises and Starscream had to go straight to his lab to work. That meant Powerglide was heading to the mess hall for a cube with the others. That type of thing tended to go either really well or really poorly. It generally depended on whether or not Slingshot decided to say something stupid. On this particular day, he did. It wasn't but five minutes after they all sat down that Slingshot opened his mouth to spew forth bullshit. "So, Powerglide," he began, a devious grin spreading across his face while the others chatted amongst themselves, "how's your girlfriend?" 

Powerglide raised an eyebrow, sipping his cube. "Excuse me?" 

"She looked good during training," the Aerialbot continued, ignoring the confusion. 

"Uh...are you high? Slipstream is dating Soundwave." Powerglide rolled his eyes. 

"Hadn't been meaning Slipstream, though granted, she's pretty fragging hot herself." He looked fairly smug just then. "Had meant her twin." 

Powerglide's grip on his cube tightened and he just glared. Air Raid, meanwhile, gave Slingshot a light shove. "Knock it off. Don't speak about the Commander like that." 

The flyer crossed his arms. "Yeah, yeah. Whatever." He focused on his cube while Powerglide gave Air Raid a thankful look. Of course, the peace didn't last long, because soon enough... "You sure Starscream's really male?" Slingshot asked. "Cause last I heard, you two weren't exactly fragging each other and...c'mon, man, that ASS!" The flyer let out a wolf whistle. 

Powerglide slammed his empty cube on the table. "I swear to Primus, if you talk about him like that one more time I will FRAGGING. END. YOU." he ground out through clenched teeth. 

Threats never had deterred Slingshot though, and he dug around in his pockets before holding out some cash for Powerglide. "Sorry, man. Here." 

Powerglide looked confused. "What is this for?" 

"You want me to take your patrol shifts this week?" Slingshot wasn't making any sense. The other flyer just blinked. Slingshot rolled his eyes. "I'm offering to take your work this week and throw you some cash so you'll give me a half-hour with your girlfriend." The entire table went silent at that. Powerglide couldn't even believe what he'd heard. Unfortunately, that wasn't all of it. "Half an hour's all I need," Slingshot said, looking self-satisfied. "Just wanna get between those legs and know for sure." 

Powerglide snarled and grabbed the idiots hand, standing and pulling him across the table before delivering two hard punches to his face. Then he grabbed Slingshot by the hair and slammed his face into the table. "STAR.SCREAM. IS. MALE!" he yelled, accentuating each syllable with another slam against the table, the last one hard enough that the surface of it cracked. 

Luckily, Ironhide had been in the mess hall as well and jumped up at the first sign of a fight, pinging Starscream's commlink as he hurried over and pulled Powerglide back. The Aerialbots then went about tending to their now-unconscious teammate. Ironhide sighed. "Let me guess-"

"The prick insulted Starscream. Yeah, you guessed it," Powerglide muttered irritably, shrugging out of the soldier's grip and crossing his arms. 

Ironhide just watched him. "I should probably lecture you or somethin' bout keepin' yer cool, 'cept I've heard some of the things they've been sayin'." He shrugged. "If it was Chromia, I woulda done the same," he admitted. "You gotta be careful though. Yer datin' someone in th' line of command. You gotta think about how this reflects on him." 

The flyer couldn't even respond to that. He just kept staring downward. 

That was when Starscream entered and surveyed the damage, raising an eyebrow at all the blood on the broken table. "Well, I guess I should add one mess hall table to my tab now, shouldn't I?" 

Powerglide looked ashamed, clearly regretting the whole thing, and as much as Starscream wanted to tell him it would be okay, his role was "Commander" right now. He just sighed. "Come on then. I have to brig you for a few days again. Three this time." A shame, he thought. He'd been looking forward to their movie night. 

The other flyer followed, hardly daring to look at his partner. Eventually, they reached the holding cells. "Starscream...I'm really sorry," Powerglide said softly. 

The Air Commander could only give him a half-smile. "I know you are, and I know things are tough, and, Primus, I even know that that little slagger probably deserved it, but I have a job to do." 

Powerglide nodded in understanding. "I just...don't want you to be disappointed in me is all," he admitted. 

Starscream almost snorted. "Disappointed in you? No. Disappointed in your lack of self-control, maybe, but certainly not you." He opened the cell for the other. "He is going to be stuck in medbay for a few days though, so you did me the favour of not having to hear his voice for a while." 

Powerglide smiled and stepped in, staring at his partner though the bars and reaching for him. "You'll visit?" 

"Of course." Starscream took the hand and stepped forward, leaning in to kiss the other. "I'll even bring food...well...the leftovers you made. I can't cook. We would starve." He snorted. "Now, I need to go write ANOTHER incident report, but I'll see you later." He squeezed the flyer's hand before turning and leaving.

 

It was a few hours later that Starscream finished interviewing everyone who'd been present for the fight and put together all the details into a report, face turning rather red as he typed the details of the verbal exchange. Prowl and Jazz were certainly going to have fun with this one. Of course, when he brought it to them, they read it and started laughing. Starscream rolled his eyes. "Just sign it so I can bring it to Prime." Eventually they did and he brought it down to the Autobot Commander's office. Optimus would get to it eventually, but he'd been swamped with work lately and it wasn't exactly high-priority. So long as it ended up on his desk it didn't matter. So sit on his desk it did. Unfortunately, consequences soon changed and the Autobot leader never appeared to get a chance to glance over it since Starscream still found himself staring at it weeks later as he stood with Powerglide in the Prime's office. Voices could be heard approaching the door. It sounded as though Optimus was arguing with Soundwave over the incident that had occurred just moments before in the medbay. Optimus clearly didn't want to talk to Soundwave about it at the moment, and eventually managed to shoo him away, mentioning something about needing the quiet to speak to Primus or something. Either way, it was a relief to the Seeker because Soundwave would only add to their trouble at this point. 

Optimus Prime sighed, finally managing to get Soundwave to stop hassling him. Yes, he was quite aware that the situation was dire, thank you, Soundwave. Now kindly, piss off for an hour or two, thank you. He swore, this whole "agent of Primus" thing had given the telepath some sort of personal agenda. Clearly, it had been a hectic day. At least he could try to contact Primus while it was quiet. That was when the Prime looked across his office and saw the two flyers' spirits staring at him. He tried not to look surprised, or angry, or frustrated. They both seemed rather nervous already. The Prime sighed. "Perhaps we should have a chat."


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In this chapter: Prime has a bad day and probably needs some Advil.

Eventually, the chaos had to die down. Starscream's body simply couldn't handle the amount of energy required to host Unicron, especially not while the Dark God was using it to ram at the door and fill the room with fire. Luckily, Soundwave's shields held long enough and things finally went silent, Unicron forced to put Starscream's body into another recharge. That gave them enough time to enter the room and remove Ironhide's body as well, placing it in the morgue. Prime and Soundwave surveyed the charred and blood-spattered room, Optimus rubbing his eyes tiredly. 

"Might I suggest we relocate the Seeker's body to solitary, where it will pose less of a threat," Soundwave murmured calmly. The burning stench of this room stung both of their nostrils. 

The Prime nodded. "That would be wise." And so they did, first placing stasis cuffs on Starscream's wrists as a security measure, then dragging him down to the brig, where they ordered Prowl to place in him what could only be described as "the Pit," a very specific, yet rarely used cell set on the level below the rest of the brig, even apart from the other solitary cells. It was an 8x10 room with no windows and six inches of reinforced steel serving as the walls and door, and a camera running at all times. The idea was that it was meant to house a big name Decepticon, like say Megatron, if he was ever captured and prepared for trial. They didn't want to take chances on the other cell, so they used this one. But even this didn't seem enough when it came to Unicron. Soundwave would have to focus on a shield. They eventually threw Starscream's body into the room, refusing to take the cuffs off, and locked the door. 

Soundwave looked to the Prime. "Sir, if I may be so bold...both Powerglide and Starscream's sparks are acting outside of regulation and aiding the enemy. At this point it would be beneficial to eradicate both parties." 

Optimus looked at the telepath as though he was crazy. Prowl intervened then. "You realize you just told the Prime to kill off your girlfriend's brother, right?" 

"It does not matter at this point," the telepath replied coolly. "Unless something is done soon, Unicron will kill us all." Soundwave turned to the Prime once more. "Your brother warned you, did he not?" 

Optimus thinned his lips and went silent at that, frustration growing by the second. Megatron had, indeed, warned him. And he'd figured it was just another of his brothers psychological games. But then...even Starscream had warned him... Optimus turned and climbed the stairs, promptly leaving the brig with Soundwave on his tail. 

"Sir, you really should consider-" 

"ENOUGH! Soundwave," the Prime finally said as he got to his office door. "I will consult Primus myself to see what should be done about Starscream. In the meantime, please, just go do something that doesn't involve this." With that, he entered his office and sighed, eventually spotting the Seeker and the flyer. Ironic timing. The Prime sat at his desk. "Perhaps we should have a chat," he said, face carefully neutral. 

"How can he see us?" Powerglide asked nervously. 

"Link to Primus," Starscream whispered back before approaching the desk, his partner hiding behind him. "We came to make a deal," Starscream announced. "Bring Powerglide back and I will help you fight this thing." 

Optimus just stared at him. Starscream had never been shy about stating his wants, but sometimes even Optimus had to question the Seekers common sense. "Starscream, we've been over this-" 

Starscream waved a hand and interrupted. "Enough with the BS, Optimus! Do you want help or don't you?!" 

"I...help would be nice, yes." 

"Then bring him back!" 

The Prime crossed his arms and glared at the other. "Why? So you can come back, only to be kicked out of your body again? Starscream, I would move mountains to help you if you gave me a reason to, but sending my men on a suicide mission with no evidence that you coming back will make a shred of difference is not something I'm going to do! At this point, Unicron is in control, not you, and he is making your body do what he wants. So I suggest you save your demands for when you have something to back them up with and find a place to hide, because I hear Primus isn't pleased with either of you right now." The Prime then picked a datapad up from his desk and began reading, signaling that the meeting was over. That was it. They had their answer. 

Starscream looked sadly to his partner and took his hand, squeezing it before the two of them vanished completely.


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In this chapter: Soundwave is an asshole, Knockout feels bad, and Starscream is conniving.
> 
> So really, it's pretty normal.

Slipstream was bored. Not only had Soundwave's refusal to stop talking about his duties as an "agent of Primus" successfully ruined her sly plans to get laid the previous night, but apparently now her boyfriend thought it was a fantastic idea to spend their lunch outing talking about the situation with her "traitor brother and his boyfriend". She sighed. "That's great, Soundwave," the femme murmured non-enthusiastically as she leaned against one hand and stirred her tea. This whole thing had changed him and she didn't like it, but she found herself too afraid to say anything about it. A brother involved with Unicron and a boyfriend involved with Primus. What was a femme to do? Perhaps she should have just given the whole "being single" thing a shot. She frowned into her tea. Single had never looked good on her. That's what Starscream would have said. The femme sniffed. Primus, she missed her brother. It was only then that she noticed Soundwave had gone silent and looked up. The telepath was giving the femme the coldest look he could possibly muster. 

"You must block him from your thoughts, Slipstream." 

Slipstream just stared at him. "He's my brother, Soundwave." 

The mech grabbed her by the wrists then, startling her, before staring her directly in the eyes. "It does not matter," he murmured, "Starscream is a traitor to Primus. Nothing but pain will come to you if you allow him to remain in your spark." 

The femme just glared and pulled back from him, standing and grabbing her things. "This "agent of Primus" thing has changed you, Soundwave, and not in a good way. If you think I'm going to sit around and listen to the way you keep talking about him, much less tolerate you THREATENING my brother, you're wrong!" She turned away from him and started walking off. "I'll find my own way home!" And with that, he was left to his own devices. Unbeknownst to him, however, Starscream and Powerglide had been watching from not that far away. Starscream in particular did not seem impressed. 

Powerglide seemed more concerned for the femme than anything else. "Does she seem hurt at all?" he asked, watching Slipstream walk off. 

The Seeker just crossed his arms. "Thankfully, Slipstream is tougher than that. It does not, however, make me wish I had my body any less so I could snap Soundwave's neck for grabbing my sister in such a manner." He did seem rather irate about it. But he eventually sighed. "She'll probably go back to base and vent for a while before watching one of those sappy human movies she enjoys so much," he said flippantly, "then she'll, I don't know, eat some ice cream or something. He'll come back home..." the Seeker sounded bored, "they'll have...ugh..."makeup sex", and all will be well with the world again. This is all provided he simply stops being an asshole." Which seemed unlikely at this point. Though Soundwave's apparent change in character did give him an idea. "Clearly, Soundwave is out to get us. We should find out who else is...WAS as well...in life, rather." 

Powerglide raised an eyebrow. "You mean...." 

"Who orchestrated our fight, yes." Starscream turned to him. "We may not have much time before Primus finds us, and..." 

Powerglide blinked. "And?" The Seeker grinned, eyes flashing an unusually fiery red for the briefest of moments. 

"I know just who can help us exact our revenge."

 

The "official" story going around base was that Starscream had apparently suffered a psychotic break due to the alleged suicide of his lover and the overwhelming amount of stress he'd been under. He was now being kept on lock down, and was no longer fit for duty. The Prime would see to it that he would be honorably discharged when the time was right. The unofficial add-on that was going around was that Starscream had also snapped and murdered Ironhide. And the story people only whispered to each other when no one in the chain of command was around was that Starscream was also possessed by some kind of demon. Knockout didn't know what to believe anymore. None of the higher-ups were saying anything and the room that the Seeker had been kept in had been stripped and cleaned out before anyone could get in to have a look. And Ironhide's body... The former Decepticon shuddered as he remembered the sight of it. Charred and decapitated. Maybe the demon story wasn't so ridiculous after all, because he didn't know WHAT could do that. The redhead stared down at this energon cube before pushing it to the side, feeling the pit in his stomach growing again. Slag, he felt guilty. Despite how he might have hated them before, he was starting to miss seeing Starscream and Powerglide now. Plus, her brother being gone made Slipstream unhappy, and Knockout hated Slipstream being unhappy. He pulled the cube towards him again. "Fuck," he whispered into it. "Starscream...I'm so sorry..." He was just about to drink some when he blinked, staring at the liquid and seeing both the Seeker and Powerglide in the reflection. Knockout turned around in shock, but saw no one. Clearly, his guilty conscience was creeping up on him. It was then that he decided that he needed to talk to Sunstreaker and set the record straight once and for all. The medic downed the cube and stood, heading off to find the blonde twin.

The two flyers had, in fact, been standing behind the redhead and observing him. Starscream cocked his head. "That was interesting. You're certain it was Knockout then?" 

Powerglide shrugged. "Like I said, I was too pissed off to watch the whole video. Whoever it was, I saw from behind and had red hair. Plus, he's been hanging with Sunny, and you did just hear him say he was sorry." 

The Seeker nodded. "You're right. It just strikes me as odd that I don't remember doing anything with him." In any case... "He knows something though. They both do. We should follow." He took his partner by the hand and they made their way through the base, following the mech that very well may have ruined both their lives.


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In this chapter: Soundwave has second thoughts about his assignment. Sunstreaker comes clean about what happened. Starscream and Powerglide get all the answers they need.

Soundwave wasn't entirely sure what was wrong with him. He really hadn't been feeling right since...well, since the incident where Ironhide was killed. Sure, he had his duties to uphold to Primus, and yes, it was true that he never really had understood the relationship between those two particular flyers, but verbally berating Powerglide the way he did was just not in Soundwave's character. Neither was doing anything that might upset his lovely Slipstream. Had he hurt her in some way? The femme was refusing to speak to him at all and wouldn't even come out of her room. Primus, he'd really fragged this up, hadn't he? Primus...Primus. Primus! The telepath blinked. Was this Primus' doing?! That certainly explained his lapses in consciousness. He knew he was here as an agent, but he didn't realize Primus would take direct control. Suddenly, the telepath felt a great unease at the situation, as though his body were just some tool to be used for war. Starscream was the mech who might very well be his brother in law one day, and by extension, so might Powerglide. If he had to eradicate one or both of their sparks, Soundwave wasn't sure if he'd ever be able to face Slipstream again.

 

The blonde twin was sitting in his room when the knock came. He got up and slammed his hand on the door panel, allowing the door to slide open. It was the redhead. Sunstreaker frowned. "What do you want, Knockout? Kinda busy." 

Knockout pushed past and walked into the room. "No you aren't. I need to talk to you." 

The twin rolled his eyes and let the door shut. "Bout what?" 

"About Starscream." 

Sunstreaker was silent for a good ten seconds or so before crossing his arms. "Look, he was crazy, alright? Nothing much for us to say. We weren't exactly friends or anything. Sideswipe was going out with Slipstream a while back, he knew the guy better..." 

"About what HAPPENED to Starscream," Knockout cut him off sharply. 

The Autobot sighed and sat on his berth. "Yeah, that was messed up. Guess he couldn't handle losing Powerglide..." 

"Sunstreaker, did you show Powerglide that video?" Knockout was trying to speak calmly to the other. If anything, this would be just as much his fault. 

The blonde didn't respond, instead tapping his fingers on his knees anxiously. 

"Sunny, did you-" 

"Yeah, yeah, I showed it to him," the other whispered out. "I ain't sorry for it either." 

Knockout stared at him in disbelief. "Primus, Sunny, why would you do that?" 

"Cause Powerglide was my friend. And I couldn't let my friend date that whore Seeker. I saw what he did to you. He had you wrapped around his finger. You two were just about to bond too! And then what? He drops you and moves on." Sunstreaker snorted. "Powerglide didn't even like mechs that way. Wasn't gonna let him fall in love with one only to get his spark broken." He crossed his arms again. "Shouldn't be dating his direct superior anyway." Sunny shook his head. "Now my friend is dead and that fucking whore is still alive, so what does it matter anymore anyway?" 

Knockout couldn't help but feel a small pang of pity in his spark for the other. He'd tried to protect his friend. Sure, he'd gone about it in the most idiotically reckless way possible, but it was rare to hear Sunstreaker admit to actually caring about anyone but himself. The medic nodded. "I'll stop bugging you then. You destroyed the video?" 

"Course I did. You shouldn't feel bad anyway. It was from before they dated." 

Knockout knew that, but the fact remained that Starscream hadn't been coherent during the act, and that alone made him feel terrible. Not to mention the fact that Powerglide hadn't known it was from before they were together. It just made him feel all-around sick to be involved. "Of course. You're right. I'll see you later, Sunny." With that, he left. 

Starscream looked over to Powerglide and raised an eyebrow. Of course they'd been watching from a corner of the room. It seemed as though this little excursion of theirs had given them all the information they needed to get started. He nodded to his partner before taking his hand and disappearing from the room.


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In this chapter: Evil! Terror! Suspense! Oh, and a non-crack pairing for the rest of you. You're welcome.  
> Love,   
> Your Benevolent Overlord Author

Unicron lay in wait in the corner of the dark cell those moronic Autobots had thrown him into. Clearly, they feared him. Why else would his wrists still be cuffed painfully behind his back? It had been two days now since he'd been thrown into this dump and still, not a single one of them had brought him any energon. Truly, they must be frightened for their pathetic fragile lives to allow the Seeker's body to starve like this. Not that it mattered really. Unicron was a God, and this body was his vessel. Starscream's genetic disposition to a certain spark mutation had made him the perfect candidate for such an honor. And his foolish femme creator's desperate plea to the God's to protect her son had provided an excellent bargaining tool. If only the stupid bitch was alive to see her son now. Unicron grinned maliciously and stared up at the camera. He knew Prowl was watching. Prowl and his little bitch, Jazz. The Dark God stared straight at them. Right into their sparks. Leaving a dark promise of what he would to to them the second he had the chance.

 

Prowl flinched and turned the monitor off. Primus, Unicron was terrifying! The Second in Command looked over to Jazz, spark still pounding. "I swear...every time he does that-" 

Jazz took his bondmate's hand and squeezed it. "I know, Prowler. I know. That guy is fraggin' creepy. Wish Prime'd figure somethin' out already." He sighed. The Prime kept saying Primus would help them out, but from what Jazz had heard, Primus had expended nearly all his energy the last time he'd helped, which why why Soundwave was brought back to life. Slag lot of good that was doing. Jazz just grunted. "Wish Prime'd jus' let me go get the Primus-damned Allspark. Quick sneak in. Sneak out. Bring ol' Glider back, and everyone's happy." 

Prowl's eyes widened. "Are you INSANE?! Even if Optimus said it was alright, no way would I let you! Remember last time? Megatron cut your damn throat!" Jazz brushed his fingers across his own neck, remembering the incident and flinching at the memory while his bondmate ranted on. "And this time, we wouldn't have anyone over there to bring you back!" 

"This time I wouldn't get caught," the saboteur replied. 

Prowl grabbed his bondmate's wrists and pulled the other over and into his lap. "Jazz! I-no!" He shook his head fervently. "First off, there's no evidence to suggest bringing back Powerglide will in any way help improve the Starscream situation. Starscream can't do anything to help at this point. But, second, you're not putting me through that again!" He kissed the back of each of Jazz's hands. "Don't even think about it. Please." 

Jazz sighed, relaxing in the other's lap and rolling his eyes just a little. Prowl was such a worrywart sometimes, but he couldn't really blame the other. And Jazz couldn't really stand the thought of causing his bondmate pain like that. "Alright, alright. I'll never think about it again." Satisfied, Prowl wrapped his arms around his partner and held him close, content for the moment to just forget the rest of the world.


	13. Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This chapter contains: Drama! Romance! Thrills! Plot! And just borders on hitting a cliche, but I've been playing enough Saints Row 4 that I kick that straight in the nuts. You're welcome.

It didn't matter when the screen eventually was turned back on. It still just showed Unicron huddled in the corner, though it appeared as though he'd put the Seeker's body into a recharge again. That was a relief to the two surveillance officers. It meant that they could finally go stretch their legs. In all actuality, however, it was a trick played by the Chaos Bringer. A false image placed on their monitor to make them think all was well. Unicron was expecting visitors soon. "I wondered when you would should up," he murmured with an almost amused tone through the Seeker's mouth. "Come to ask a favour, have you?"

Starscream crossed his arms and stared, raising an eyebrow, Powerglide standing next to him and looking somewhat nervous. "Do you know how weird it is for me to talk to myself and also answer?" the Seeker replied. "Does that make me crazy?" 

The Dark God snorted. "Not when you are neither yourself nor inhabiting yourself." 

Powerglide spoke up then. "You made it sound like you knew we were coming." 

Unicron's attention turned to the second flyer. "I know all and see all, mortal. I am a God. I reside in the darkness and thrive on the chaos of the universe, while my brother resides in the light and thrives on control. I exist to see destruction. He exists to see creation. I am fire. He is water. We are opposites, yet the same. Neither of us are evil, yet your mortal minds categorize us as such. We are both necessary." 

Starscream swallowed then. "If you anticipated our arrival, then you must know what we're here for and you must need something in return." 

Unicron closed his eyes and grinned. "You really do have a brilliant mind for a mortal; very fast and very logical. Just like your mother creator's. Even now, as I reside within this shell, I can hear the whispers of your thoughts, rapidly firing off ideas one at a time. A shame you didn't move off-world when the war picked up. You always did regret that." 

Starscream clamped his jaw shut and stared, wide-eyed. It had never really occurred to him that the Dark God might access his thoughts like that. Unicron snorted at the silence, letting it seep in for a moment before speaking again. "Yes, I've already determined the factors regarding your arrival and what I require in return." He opened his eyes to gaze levelly at them. "This human form burns out too quickly. It is insufficient without a means of dampening my energy output. Consequently, the reason you are here is to barter to allow your partner's resurrection and your return to your body as temporary tools for means of getting back at the ones who wronged you. I will allow both permanently on the grounds that you both swear your allegiance to my name, and you, Seeker, act as my "agent", much as the telepath has for Primus. This will grant me enough access to control you when I please, but without burning so much energy. It will also provide you with a great deal of power." 

"Wait," Powerglide interjected, "So he'd be a puppet?!" 

"If I feel the need to speak through him, I will. If I find that it is more beneficial to take direct measures, I will. It will otherwise largely be the two of you acting on my behalf."

"Why can you only inhabit him?" Powerglide asked. "Why not me?" 

"The Seeker possesses a spark mutation that renders his spark indestructible," Unicron answered, amused. "Were I to inhabit you, you would burn from the inside out." Powerglide just flinched at the thought and decided to stop asking questions. "Enough chatter," the Dark God finally said. "Either live life under my name and taste true power, or walk away and continue your existence as wandering spirits." He grinned at the two of them, sharp teeth bared wickedly. "The choice is yours and I already know which one it will be." 

Starscream crossed his arms. "I do not like the idea of being controlled," he responded. 

"Ironic you would say that when you've been under someone's control your entire life," Unicron deadpanned, practically staring a hole through him. "You've never had control. Ever. Your father creator, Megatron, Shockwave, Soundwave, Dylan, Optimus...they've all at one point or another controlled you in some way. And on top of all of that? Me. I am the one controlling your life. I shape who you are and what you will become. You never once had control." Unicron laughed sharply. "You were never even close." Starscream just closed his mouth and looked away, eyes narrowing. 

Powerglide took the Seeker's hand in both of his and squeezed it encouragingly. "What should we do?" he asked softly. 

"How much do you want to go back?" Starscream replied, voice just as soft. 

"I do..it's just..." Powerglide bit his lip and played with Starscream's hand in his. "I don't want you to be a pawn." 

"I'm not sure how much I would be. Unicron likely has better things to do, hence, I'd be an 'agent'." 

Powerglide sighed. "I guess. It's your choice. I'll follow you anywhere, really." He ran the back of his hand along the Seeker's cheek fondly. "You are my Commander, after all." 

"Anywhere, huh? Even in death?" He was teasing the other lightly. 

Powerglide smiled and nodded. "Even in death. To the Pit. Back to life. Detroit. And anywhere beyond." 

Starscream just snorted, capturing the hand that was caressing his cheek and kissing each fingertip before turning to Unicron. "We've made a decision," he announced. "We accept your offer." 

Unicron just smiled. "I had a feeling you would." He brought his hands forward (as though the cuffs could really hold Unicron) and beckoned them both to him. 

Starscream held Powerglide's hand and was about to move forward when the flyer tugged him back. "Wait," Powerglide said nervously, pulling the Seeker to face him. "I...just in case this is a trick and we both end up screwed, I really have to say something." 

Starscream gave him a look. "Oh, Primus, you're not going to make this a cliche, are you?" 

"What? No. Just...I kind of got us into this mess because of that fight. I shouldn't have yelled at you. I shouldn't have reacted the way I did. I should have realized something was wrong in that video. I know you don't remember that night. I doubt we were even together yet. But when I saw it...I couldn't stand seeing someone else touch you like that and I kept thinking it should have been me. And then I did the stupidest thing ever, which was go out and buy some hero-mmph!" 

Starscream ended up rolling his eyes and just kissing the Autobot partway through to make him shut up. "Apology accepted, alright?" he said, once the kiss broke. "Now let's get back to our bodies." Powerglide just nodded, somewhat dazed after the sudden kiss, and followed his partner to Unicron. 

As soon as the flyer's reached the energy flowing from Unicron's outstretched hands, both their worlds went black.


	14. Chapter 14

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In this chapter: Starscream and Powerglide are alive again and really want to get it on

"Starscream..."

The Seeker grunted.

"Starscream."

A groan was the only response."

"Starscream, c'mon."

"Hng...what?"

"Wake up."

"Why?"

There was almost a laugh in the other's voice when he answered, "Because we're alive."

There was a fairly drawn out silence before the Seeker opened his eyes and sat up in bed. "What are you-" He froze then, gazing up at Powerglide and remembering all that they'd gone through. "We're alive again," Starscream whispered in shock, staring down at his own hands, then feeling his own arms, his own face, his own hair. The Seeker couldn't believe this had actually worked. He once more looked to his partner. "Unicron actually came through."

Powerglide nodded slowly. "That he did. Almost hard to believe."

"Your eyes look different," Starscream commented. The Autobots once-pure blue eyes now had a ring of orange wrapped around the pupils.

"Speak for yourself," Powerglide replied. "You've got the same thing. Unicron's mark, no doubt. Makes yours look more like fire though. Red and orange work better than blue and orange." 

"I'm sure you'll be fine," the Seeker returned with a snort before he stretched and yawned. "We better get started then."

"Actually, I was thinking..." The other flyer slowly crawled closer on the bed and over to his partner, pressing Starscream's back to the headboard and leaning in, brushing his lips lightly across the skin of the Seeker's neck. "We just came back, Starscream," he said as he stroked his lover's hair with one hand and used his other to gently touch at Starscream's shoulder. "Why not enjoy the calm before the storm?"

"What did you have in mind?"

"I think it's safe to say Ratchet's rules for our relationship don't apply anymore." Powerglide pulled back and stared into the former Decepticon's eyes with a rather suggestive grin on his face.

It took the Seeker a moment to understand what his partner was implying, possibly because he'd spent the last half year reprogramming his mind on such things, but when he did... Starscream blinked. "You're saying you want to fuck me."

The brunette rolled his eyes. "And to think, you're the mech that somehow seduced me. I had been hoping it might be a little less casual than that, Star." He stroked his Commander's cheek and turned the other's face towards him to nip at his lips.

"No. I mean yes. I mean..." Starscream sighed. "Sorry. I haven't done this in a while. Yes. I agree. Now would be the time to try. I just worry that I may lose control."

Powerglide rubbed his nose against the other's, never once breaking eye contact, and lightly brushed his lips across Starscream's. "Starscream, what do you have to worry about by losing control at this point? What we are running into might well be a suicide mission." His fingers played at the long strands of the Seeker's hair as he began to lightly press kisses to the other's jawline. 

Starscream's breath hitched and his fingers tensed, gripping the headboard while the other slowly moved over him. "I...suppose you are right," he gasped. Suddenly, Powerglide's hands moved down the Seeker's sides and the arms wrapped around him. Starscream felt himself being pulled down onto his back, his head landing softly on the pillow and his legs angled up in the air. The bedsheet that had been covering him slid down between his thighs, exposing them.

Powerglide sat back and just observed him for a moment after taking off his own clothing, purring appreciatively at the sight of Starscream, spread out and waiting for him in the sheets. He could hardly wait to tear the thin black boyshorts covering that pretty ass and once more claim it as his. Granted, he was slagging crazy about that Seeker. But it was ridiculous how many nights the flyer found himself jerking off in the bathroom because of Starscream, and he couldn't risk having the Seeker relapse to help him. This would be the payoff though. Powerglide crawled forward again and spread Starscream's thighs, getting between them and back over him to continue their lovemaking. He pressed a deep kiss against the other, hands firmly gripping Starscream's jaw. Then one of his hands let go and began to trail down the squirming body, groping his Commander through the boyshorts. 

Starscream moaned and broke the kiss. "Powerglide, wait," he murmured.

The flyer frowned. "What's up?"

"We just came back. Unicron's been using my body, and you've been dead. We're filthy. Can we maybe at least start this in the shower?"

Powerglide couldn't have been more delighted. The thought of having a wet, soapy, slippery Seeker against the walls of the shower was enough to make him moan audibly. "Frag, yes," he groaned out, grinning at the other. He pulled back and stood, helping the other up as well and leading him to the bathroom eagerly. The flyer had no doubt in his mind they'd be going multiple rounds today. Especially with all the time they'd built up. He was okay with that, especially as he let Starscream walk past, into the bathroom, hips swaying slightly. He grinned, eyes planted firmly on the thin black underwear that he wanted to tear off. With his teeth. Then he followed the other in and let the door slide shut. Frag, he was looking forward to this day.


	15. Chapter 15

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In this chapter: Porn! Gratuitous porn! You're welcome.

Starscream gasped as he was pressed face first against the wall and held there, the steady stream from the shower head beating against his shoulder blades while his partner focused on kissing and caressing his way down the Seeker's sides. "Powerglide- what are you doing?" Starscream asked, craning his neck to look behind him and downward. "You haven't even let me take off my underwear yet?" And the Seeker really hated wet clothing.

"Mmm...that's my job," the other mumbled between kisses, clearly preoccupied at his Commander's hips. Powerglide pulled the underwear between Starscream's cheeks and began alternating between squeezing and massaging his ass methodically. He grabbed a nearby bottle of body wash and squirted it in his hands, spreading it over the lovely rear, gasping and making it nice and slick. Then he reached round the front and began groping his partner through the thin fabric again, groaning as he leaned in and rubbed against the slippery ass. Powerglide was already naked, so it was easy for the Seeker to feel how excited he was for this, and feeling Starscream hardening in his hand, as well as watching him palming desperately at the wet walls just made it that much better for Powerglide. The flyer knelt back down and slowly tugged away at those boyshorts, listening to the small pleasured gasps coming from the other. He grinned. "Spread your legs wider for me, Star," he purred out, gently brushing his hand across the Seeker's still-covered cock. 

Starscream did as asked, body stretched against the slippery walls. Powerglide gently took the fabric between his teeth then and lowered it even more, exposing that delicious round ass. The flyer reached up and continued to grope it, listening to the delighted moans coming from his superior as he spread the cheeks and dared to rub his finger against the long-neglected entrance. 

Starscream inhaled sharply. "Quit teasing!"

Powerglide chuckled, letting the fabric out of his mouth and taking two fingers between his lips. "As you wish," he murmured, wetting his index and middle finger before pressing one to the puckered hole and slowly sliding it in. His other hand quickly moved round to Starscream's front, his palm pressing flat against the Seeker's abdomen as the finger sank in deep, Starscream tensing and gasping loudly.

"Shh..shh...there's my Seeker," Powerglide praised once he felt the other relax and began to work him. Starscream was so much tighter than he ever remembered! Once it seemed as though he'd adjusted to the one finger, Powerglide began pushing the index finger in next to it. Starscream cried out, loudly, though it was obvious that he wanted it. His hips were twitching and he was moving them along his subordinate's digits, practically hurrying the process along, though Powerglide was trying to be careful. Soon enough, both fingers were inside of him and the Seeker leaned back against the other, getting on his knees and practically purring while Powerglide scissored them and stretched his walls. This went on for a few minutes before Starscream stared back at his partner with a certain glint in his eyes.

Powerglide grinned. Starscream almost seemed to be playing at something then. "You want something?"

"Thought we were here to get clean." Starscream licked his lips. 

"You want me to wash your hair or something?"

Starscream grinned back. "If you want to."

The other flyer removed his fingers from the lovely ass then and gave it a hard smack before standing and grabbing the shampoo. "You stay down there."

Starscream licked his lips again. "Of course," he replied, turning to face the other and sitting on his knees.

Powerglide began running his fingers through the long black hair, lathering it up and mostly just enjoying playing with it. Then he felt the Seeker's lips wrapping around his cock and that hot mouth take him all the way in. He gasped, fingers knotting in the hair and eyes rolling back when Starscream swallowed around him. "Hng...Starscream...frag...you're way too good at this..."  
Starscream bobbed his head, moaning around the hard dick. He stared up at his partner, loving the expression of pure ecstasy on Powerglide's face. The Seeker lightly ran his nails along the other's hips while he continued to please.

Powerglide let his head fall back and squeezed his eyes shut while he groaned the Seeker's name over and over, hips twitching ever so slightly against that hot wet mouth and fingers lightly urging Starscream's head along his shaft. Eventually, Starscream had to pull back. He couldn't let their fun end too soon. The salty taste of his lover's precum on his lips was telling enough that it was time to stop for now. Starscream licked his lips and stood, beginning to rinse the shampoo from his hair and help wash the other's as well.

Powerglide took a deep breath and opened his eyes, watching his partner, stroking himself lightly and trying not to groan at the sight of the suds sliding down that body of his. He wanted to save it til they were in bed again though. Still, he couldn't stop himself from grabbing Starscream by the wrist and pulling him close, his hands running all over the wet body, rubbing and groping to his sparks content while he pressed deep lustful kisses on the other. The flyer ground his hips against his partner, his own hard length rubbing insistently against Starscream's. The Seeker just shuddered, leaning back against the wall and widening his hips. He reached between them and took them both in hand, sliding them together. 

Powerglide panted, hands firmly gripping his Commander's slender waist while he watched. "Careful," he warned. "Don't want me overloading too soon."

"What's to stop me from just turning you on again?" Starscream responded rather smugly.

The brunette snorted and pushed another kiss on him. "Show's over," he murmured, pulling back and turning the water off. "Why don't we towel off and take it back to the bedroom? You go first."

Starscream raised an eyebrow. "Any reason I'm going first?"

"Cause there's no way in the Pit I won't just frag you over the bathroom counter if I watch you toweling off. Now go." Powerglide pointed towards the towels, keeping himself far enough back so the other wasn't in his line of sight.

Starscream grinned and headed out, quickly toweling his body off and wrapping up so the other could emerge from the shower before he began drying his hair as well. "We spending the whole day together?" he asked casually. "Or straight to business after this?"

"Thought we might spend until the twilight hours together. Wanna treat you to a nice hot meal and all that too," Powerglide said, wrapping the towel around his waist. "You know, the works. Beyond that is your choice."

Starscream smiled and brushed out his still-damp hair, pulling it over one shoulder and turning to the other. "I think that sounds like a fine plan." He kissed his partner lightly, took Powerglide by the hand, and led him back through to the bedroom, where he felt the other's hands eagerly sliding over his hips and he smiled to himself.

The subordinate flyer spun his Commander to face him and pulled him close by the hips, grinning into Starscream's eyes before shoving him back onto the bed, keeping over him the whole time. Then the Autobot pulled his own towel off and threw it to the side before proceeding in sliding his hands up along Starscream's thighs. "Why do you hide so much of yourself from me, Starscream?" he purred, almost teasing the other as he played at the edges of the towel.

Starscream smirked. "I'm not hiding. I'm making you work for it." He lightly pushed at his lover's chest with his foot. His partner just laughed and gripped the towel, flipping the Seeker onto his front and stripping it completely off of him. 

Powerglide inhaled sharply at the sight, watching Starscream get onto his knees, chest pressed down to the mattress, ass swaying slowly back and forth, teasing and tempting him. The flyer grabbed a tube of lubricant from the bedside table and coated three fingers, once more diving knuckle-deep inside of his Commander. Beautiful. Starscream looked so gorgeous arching in pleasure like that, especially when Powerglide used his free hand to tug at the Seeker's hair. He wriggled his fingers inside the jolting form, thumb rubbing circles gently just above Starscream's stretched entrance. Then he let go of the hair and slid his free hand down over the Seeker's shoulder blades, where his wing connectors would have been. And what a reaction did that get. Starscream tightened around him almost immediately and shrieked, much to his partner's delight. Powerglide would have to exploit that delicious little bundle of nerves more often.

Powerglide purred and leaned in, his fingers rubbing at what he thought to be the Seeker's prostate. It was. Starscream squeezed his eyes shut and let out a strained cry of pleasure through clenched teeth. His partner just smiled, pulsing his fingers inside of the other a few more times just to hear those sounds. And when Starscream started calling his name? That was when Powerglide knew he was ready. The flyer gently pulled the fingers from his Commander's tight heat and wiped them on the sheets. Then, leaning over the Seeker, he wrapped an arm tightly under Starscream's chest and used his other hand to grab a condom off the berthside table. Starscream smiled, feeling the other nipping playfully at his ear before being hoisted back, both of them reclined on the bed, Powerglide's arms keeping him firmly held back to his chest.

"What're you up to?" Starscream murmured as the other urged his head back to push a deep kiss on him.

"Mmm...you wanna help me get this on?" Powerglide pressed the condom into Starscream's hand. 

The Seeker raised an eyebrow. "Since when do you bother with these?"

"Since I decided I was slagging crazy about you and I wanted to do this right." Powerglide kissed him again. "Now. A little assistance?" Can't really reach when I'm lying down and have a lap full of Seeker."

The compliment wasn't entirely lost on Starscream, but he just smiled and shook his head, sitting up and tearing open the small package before sliding the sticky round thing onto his lover's shaft, gripping the length firmly and pumping a few times for good measure. Powerglide's toes curled and he let out a pleasured groan before sitting up as well and wrapping an arm around the Seeker's slender waist. His other hand he used to gently guide himself against Starscream's entrance. Then he moved his hand from the waist up to Starscream's cheek, turning the other's head to look at him. "You ready for me, Starscream?" he breathed out against the Seeker's lips, pressing another kiss on him and slowly pushing into the tight heat.

Starscream tensed and let out a muffled moan, but his subordinate held his body tight, getting the head of his cock inside that lovely ass before he allowed them both to recline again and broke the kiss. Then he started taking it in slow, lazy thrusts, just enjoying the feel of the other around him, listening to the soft cries that Starscream made each time he pushed a little deeper. Eventually, Powerglide was all the way in and he began moving his hips faster, continuing to kiss the Seeker's lips while Starscream gripped at his forearms tightly. "Feels so slagging good," Powerglide moaned between kisses. "You're so fragging tight!" Soon though, he pulled out and urged Starscream to roll over again, trapping the Seeker's wrists over his head and pushing his chest to the mattress once more before pushing in again.

Powerglide fucked him harder this time, making him scream in pleasure and the berth shake under them. The flyer's thrusting became faster and more erratic as well. The sound of his heavy panting and his hips slapping hard against the Seeker's mingled in well with Starscream's cries and the shaking of the berth. He began to curse lightly under his breath. This was getting too hot. But he didn't want it to end. And the way Starscream kept moaning for him just spurred him along more. Eventually, he found that he had to let go of the wrists to keep his balance. One hand firmly gripped Starscream's shoulder, pressing his chest even harder to the bed, and the other moving to grope his lovely ass while he plowed it.

Starscream's eyes were squeezed shut and his legs splayed out to the sides. His face was flushed and his hair was sticking to his face, a thick layer of sweat covering his body. Powerglide groaned, watching a bead of sweat drip down the writhing Seeker's arched spine. Starscream looked so fucking hot like this, sweaty and out of breath, writhing in ecstasy, calling his name, needing him. Powerglide shivered and leaned in to his his partner's shoulder while he fragged the other. He gave a few more hard thrusts before once more pulling out and urging Starscream onto his back. he wanted to see his Seeker's face at the height of his pleasure.

Starscream complied, gazing up at his lover, face still red and flustered as the other lifted his legs and pushed back in. Powerglide leaned over this time, urging Starscream's legs back while he thrust in and hooked them around his arms. Then he planted his hands on either side of the Seeker's shoulders and began kissing him, making sure that he let Starscream know how much he cared for him with each kiss. Starscream's arms wrapped around Powerglide's shoulders and he returned the kisses, seemingly losing himself in the closeness they shared at the moment while he stared into his partner's eyes. 

Powerglide pressed another kiss to the Seeker. "Tell me you want this," he panted out. "Tell me you need this."

"I want it," the Seeker moaned. "I need this. Please...I need you."

Powerglide's eyes seemed to brighten at that and he leaned back again, arms wrapped around those gorgeous thighs while he went back to his faster, deeper thrusting. "Let me see you touch yourself." He was panting heavily, so close to overload already. The amount of times he'd fantasized about Starscream jerking off for him though...to actually see it again would make all this time he'd waited completely worth it, and it would surely tip him over the edge.

Starscream grinned up at the other and took himself in hand, stroking slowly. 

Powerglide watched excitedly, eyes flicking back and forth between his Commander's face and his hands, the Seeker's actions and pleasured sounds just making his thrusts go faster. He found himself close to the tipping point, but he wanted his lover to finish first. Powerglide angled his hips to go nice and deep, knowing he was hitting the sweet spot when the Seeker began to jolt with each thrust and let out the most delicious cries with each hit to his prostate. Powerglide kept it up mercilessly, fucking the hapless Seeker into the berth and watching his body tense and lock up. 

Starscream's toes curled and he arched, his lover's name catching halfway in his throat as his overload ripped through his body, leaving him breathless. The other flyer clung to the hips, continuing to thrust and milk it out, feeling the tight asshole clenching rapidly around him and powering through it. Starscream seemed to have lost his ability to function due to overload. Clearly, Powerglide was good at his job. He kept up the high-powered fucking, watching his Commander's hand uncontrollably clenching around his own dick and the way his seed was spilling over his own chest and stomach. Starscream's face was contorted in pleasure as the milky substance dripped down over his hand. Powerglide couldn't help but feel a little smug about the fact that he'd given Starscream that much pleasure. And he could do it again if he wanted.

The contractions were slowing and the Seeker's body eventually relaxed, so the flyer finally pulled out and removed his condom, observing the other. "...Star?" The Seeker seemed dazed. Powerglide sighed. He supposed he could just finish himself off again.

That was when Starscream seemed to come to. "...Primus, that felt good," he groaned, sitting up and smiling tiredly. 

Powerglide grinned back. "Yeah? You're a mess. You should clean yourself up and take a rest or something." 

Starscream smirked then. "Not yet." He pulled the other over. "Someone hasn't finished." Suddenly, his head was between the other's legs, Powerglide's back resting against the pillows. The flyer moaned, his Commander's name escaping his lips and his fingers once more threading the long back hair while Starscream so eagerly swallowed around him.

Powerglide let his eyes fall shut and lightly pumped his hips, urging his partners head along the shaft. He was so close already and Starscream seemed so eager to please him... The Seeker swallowed again and Powerglide shuddered. He could feel himself starting to boil over. Starscream must have known too, because he kept swallowing and swirling his tongue around the shaft. 

The fingers knotted in the Seeker's hair and the flyer cried his lover's name much more urgently, eyes rolling back and hips twitching. The salty liquid shot into Starscream's mouth and he swallowed it, continuing to suck and swallow until he felt the fingers relax in his hair and knew the other was through. Once Starscream knew it was over, he let the other fall from his mouth, licking his lips. Then he quietly moved to the bathroom to wipe himself off with a damp cloth and brush his teeth before returning to the room and climbing on the bed. Powerglide had drifted off again.

Starscream smiled and crawled closer. He certainly wasn't tired, but laying with his partner after such an intense interfacing session, and after the last few weeks they'd had, seemed the right thing to do. The Air Commander buried his face against the other's neck, taking in his scent, spark taking comfort in it. His hand rested over his lover's spark just to feel the steady pulse. They were alive again. This was real. And Starscream was going to make the most of the time he had left to spend with the mech that he'd follow to the bowels of the Pit and back.


	16. Chapter 16

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In this chapter: Starscream and Powerglide put their plan into action. Powerglide is tempted by his old demons. And an admission is finally made.

Night arrived much sooner than the flyers would have liked. Much of their day was spent simply focused on being together while they kept a low profile, staying hidden in Powerglide's quarters. The Autobot had cooked for them both, and in the meantime, Starscream had formulated their plan for the evening. 

Sunstreaker and Knockout were to be their targets.

The Seeker's initial plan was to have them escape the base afterwards, but he knew that Sideswipe would feel Sunstreaker's death through their twin bond and the time frame to escape undiscovered would then be much too tight. They would either need to get back to Powerglide's room and wait until the time was right to sneak out again, or end up fighting their way out of the base. Either way...

Starscream could see that his partner was worried as they got ready. "You alright, Powerglide?" he asked, concerned.

The other flyer looked up at him and tried to smile, but found that he couldn't. He took his Commander's hands in his own and pulled him to the berth to sit. "Scared," he admitted. "What if this goes wrong?"

Starscream blinked. "Everything will be alright. Security at this time is lax and Prowl and Jazz already went to recharge. Hardly anyone patrols the halls at ni-"

"No. Shut up. Just listen, okay?" Powerglide squeezed his partner's hands again, almost apologetically, before taking a deep breath. "What if we get found out?"

"Then we fight our way out."

"What if one of us gets shot?"

"We keep fighting, Powerglide."

"And then what? What if one of us is killed? Starscream, Unicron already said you have that spark mutation that makes your spark indestructible. You can't be killed. That's great. But what about me? What if I am killed? And what would they do to you if they caught you?"

Starscream stared at him for a moment. "That won't happen."

"How can you be so sure?" Powerglide asked.

"Because I won't LET it happen. Nothing will happen to you." He finished checking his gun and cocked it, as though to emphasize that point. It didn't seem to calm the other flyer at all, however.

"Starscream, I don't want to be without you again."

"You won't. I-"

"Promise me."

Starscream blinked again. Powerglide truly was terrified. The Seeker set down his weapon and once more took his partner's hands, staring into his eyes. "I promise I will not let anything happen to you."

Powerglide shook his head. "That's not what I mean, Starscream."

"Then what?" The Seeker was just confused at this point.

"Bond with me."

Starscream stared at him for a moment before the words really sank in. "...What." 

"I want you to bond with me, Starscream."

It was an oddly surreal moment. "You're...serious?"

Powerglide nodded. "Dead serious. I want my spark connected with yours. I want us to belong together. I want a spark to anchor my spark to in case I do die here, so I'm not just another lost spark in the Pit, and so I can still find you."

The Seeker sighed. "Powerglide..."

His subordinate wasn't finished though. "We need to stop beating around the bush with this. We've heard each other say it to other people, but we've never said it to each other. I know you're afraid but-"

"Powerglide, don't..."

"I love you, Starscream."

The Seeker visibly flinched at the words and his breath hitched. His spark felt like it had jumped into his throat. He'd known this would happen eventually, he just wasn't sure when. And yet, for all the time he'd dreaded "falling in love" due to...whatever the slag it was that Ratchet had diagnosed him with this time; an intimacy disorder or something....he'd hardly realized just how far in he already was. Starscream glanced up at the other flyer, who was eagerly watching him and waiting for a reply and just sighed. "I love you too," he replied, almost timidly. There. He said it. And guess what? Nothing bad came of it. Nothing lit on fire, it wasn't the end of the world, and his partner wasn't running scared in the other direction. Instead, he saw Powerglide's face brighten immensely upon hearing the admission. Then he continued. "BUT...I can't bond you, Powerglide. Not yet, at least."

Powerglide's bright smile dimmed just a little. "Why not?"

"Bonding takes an inordinate amount of energy that we cannot afford to spend right now, a..and settling into the bond takes time." He was stammering just a little as he explained this, so nervous now that not agreeing to bond this very second would somehow be the deal breaker and end their relationship. "It could throw off our ability to perform as necessary, despite being advantageous in the long run. You...you would be distracted by the sudden rush of memories, and emotions, ect, that would be flowing from my end of the bond. Likewise, I would be distracted from what I felt from your end. Controlling it takes time."

Powerglide sighed disappointedly . "Oh."

"But my answer is yes; I will bond you. The second this is over with, my spark is yours." He smiled at his partner, who just seemed to perk right back up at the news before they continued getting ready. At least now Powerglide had something to distract him from the danger at hand.

"How are we going about this?" Powerglide asked once they were finally ready. 

"We take care of Knockout first," Starscream replied, pulling on some latex gloves and throwing a pair to his partner as well. "However, we need to stop by Sunstreaker's room on the way. Luckily, he's out partying with your old friends." The Seeker snorted. "Smokescreen and Beachcomber."

The flyer nodded. "And Sideswipe?" The twins did share quarters after all. 

"Staying with Mikaela. He hasn't been spending time with his twin since Sunstreaker started putting his partying before his family. Thinks Sunny is a lost cause at this point."

"Oh." Powerglide wondered where this sudden surge of knowledge came from. "Knockout's in his room then?"

Starscream shook his head. "He's in the rec room having a cube before his shift. Then he will return to his room to get ready before he heads to medbay." He was the night shift medic after all. "We strike then. We have a good 15 minutes before he arrives."

"How do you know all this?"

The orange ring in Starscream's eyes glowed eerily as the Seeker stood by the door and turned off the lights, a reminder to the other flyer of what they'd given up to come back. And that they weren't alone. "I just do. Let's go."

Powerglide swallowed, standing and following his soon-to-be bondmate as he turned and left the room, stepping out into the quiet halls of the base they once called home. "Starscream. What about the cameras?" he whispered, following his leader closely.

"They do not concern me," Starscream replied as they walked, eyes flashing briefly each time they passed a surveillance camera. 

On the security monitors, it would appear as though there had been a brief mechanical glitch. A power surge, at most. The film would flicker slightly, but it was nothing Prowl and Jazz would ever find to be worthy of inspection. Glitches happened all the time.

The Seeker and his companion stopped in front of Sunstreaker's door, Starscream staring at the number pad beside it. Each twin would have their own code, and Sunny wasn't exactly known for being smart.... "If you were Sunstreaker, what would your door code be?" Powerglide had hung out with him often enough, after all.

The flyer snorted. "Easy." He stepped forward and typed in 420-69 before hitting ENTER and hearing the lock release.

Starscream rolled his eyes. "Of course it is."

They stepped into the room, which seemed to be littered with empty high-grade cubes and stims, as well as human paraphernalia. 

"You gonna be alright coming in here?" Starscream was making sure not to step on anything as he made his way through to the other side of the room.

"Yeah, yeah...I'll be alright," Powerglide replied, trying not to look or think about all the chemicals lying around. No matter how tempting it was... "How're we gonna get into Knockout's room then?" he asked, forcing himself to think only of the mission at hand.

"We're going to have to watch him enter the code," the Seeker replied with a sigh. "My override card only extends as far as the flyers, and I haven't a clue what his code would be otherwise."

Powerglide nodded, trying to keep his attention glued on his partner, who appeared to be looking for something... "What're you trying to find?" The flyer found his attention shifting; looking around the room he saw Sunstreaker's baggy of empty syringes next to what appeared to be a container of some sticky substance that looked like black tar. Powerglide shivered and wrapped his arms around himself. Just seeing the stuff, he felt the familiar, comfortable warmth of the substance spreading throughout his entire body. 

"Sunstreaker lied to Knockout....well...kind of. He destroyed the video, yes, but he also made a copy. I'm looking for it and- ah. Found it!" Starscream held up the disk with a victorious look, his grin fading when he saw the expression on his partner's face. The Seeker looked around and saw what it was that Powerglide was staring at, eyes widening. "...Let's get you out of here." He hurried forward and took the other flyer by the arm, pulling him from the room and letting the door slide shut behind them.

Powerglide exhaled loudly once they were out, sitting on his knees to catch his breath before staring up at his Commander like he was some kind of hero.

"You know we have to go back in there, right? Powerglide, it's okay if you don't think you can handle-"

"No. I'll be fine. You're not doing this without me. I have your back." He shook his head. "I..I just...wasn't prepared for that...is all. I'll be better next time."

Starscream sighed. "As you wish." He helped the other to his feet. "Come on. We have to wait for Knockout."

Powerglide hesitated and kept hold of his partner's hand, not moving quite yet. He said he's be prepared for the next time they went in but...what if he wasn't? What if he blew it for them both? "I...I love you, Starscream," he told the other again, voice shaking slightly.

Starscream stared back at him. "I love you too..." He hesitated. "You can go wait for me in the room..." He didn't want to put his partner and future bondmate in that sort of position again.

"No. No...let's go take care of Knockout." Powerglide gave him a smile and walked ahead, forcing himself to think only of the promise that Starscream had made, and looking forward to the moment that their sparks would be joined together for eternity.


	17. Chapter 17

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In this chapter: Revenge, Romance, Character death

Knockout was headed back to his quarters to shower before his shift began. The base was pretty much dead aside from the few other mech that opted to take the night shifts. Sometimes the medic regretted his schedule, but it wasn't all bad. He'd wake up, refuel, get ready, and head into medbay in time to relieve Wheeljack and Ratchet, and basically screw around with vehicle design ideas on his datapad and watch the vidscreen until his shift was up in the morning unless the rare moment that someone needed medical attention occurred. Then once he was relieved, he'd go do whatever he wanted until about dinnertime, when he'd go recharge before his shift started again. It wasn't terribly exciting, but it was also way easier than working day shifts, so he wasn't complaining.

The medic had always sort of thought that the Autobot base was a little creepy at night, what with it being so quiet and dimly lit, but on this particular night he couldn't shake the feeling of being watched. It didn't help that the hall light above his door appeared to have burnt out at some point after he'd gone to get his cube. He'd have to talk to maintenance about that tomorrow. Knockout sighed, rolling his eyes as he entered the code to his door and entered his room. As much as he preferred the way the Autobots treated him here, the Decepticon base had been much less run down and creaky. At least upon reentering his room he didn't feel as though anyone was watching him. The former Decepticon gave a sigh of relief and went to his washroom to take a shower and get ready for his shift.

 

Of course, had Knockout actually listened to his instincts, he wouldn't have realized that someone had been watching him, though it probably wouldn't have done him much good. The hallway light that had supposedly flickered out above the medic's door had actually been taken out and replaced by a remote camera and aimed at the keypad. The ones watching now had the code the needed to get in. The Seeker and Powerglide grinned, amused with the little stunt they'd pulled and Starscream pressed a button to deactivate the camera and destroy it. The two flyers both stood then and left Powerglide's quarters. Thankfully, Knockout was a prude and would likely be in the shower for a while yet. Starscream pulled out another pair of latex gloves and put them on before typing the code in. Powerglide pulled on a pair of gloves as well. The door noiselessly slid open and the two flyers entered quietly. 

Starscream immediately began sifting through Knockout's closet, selecting a few silk scarves and taking them. Then he found Knockout's gun and equipped the suppressor, placing it in his belt for the time being. The Seeker then moved over to the medic's vidscreen and popped the stolen disk into it, casually sitting on the end of the berth to watch and patting next to him for Powerglide to join.

Curiously, the other flyer sat next to him.

Starscream leaned back on his hands, one leg crossed over the other as the screen turned on and began playing the video of the events that started this whole problem. The Seeker analyzed the happenings, watching himself onscreen. Strange, he thought. He didn't remember that night at all. The Seeker cocked his head to the side and just watched boredly as the vidscreen showed Knockout fragging him into submission on the berth. 

Powerglide, on the other hand, was fuming as they watched. How dare that wretched little medic touch Starscream like that?! How dare he?! Never mind the fact that Starscream looked half out of it during the act. But seeing the redheads fingers gripping Starscream's hair and forcing, yes, FORCING his face down into the pillows while he fragged the Seeker just made Powerglide want to... "UGH!!!" The flyer made a disgusted sound and wrapped an arm tightly around Starscream's waist, keeping close. He would never treat his partner like that. Not in a million years. And the second he got his hands on that slagging little medic, Powerglide was going to make sure Knockout never had the chance to treat anyone like that ever again.

Knockout was just stepping out of the shower and toweling off his hair when he paused for a moment. Was his vidscreen on? He didn't remember watching anything... The medic quickly finished, patting himself down and getting dressed before slowly emerging from the washroom. He froze then seeing what was playing on the vidscreen. The video. Sunny was such a fragging liar! Knockout shook his head and moved forward to retrieve it, not really bothering to wonder why it was in his room. Sunstreaker was probably planning on having some fun with him again tonight or something. That was when Starscream rounded the corner right behind him.

"Hello, Knockout. Miss me?" He grabbed the medic, shoving a chemical soaked cloth over his mouth and nose. Clearly, he'd found the medical supplies. The Seeker held tight for the few seconds the other tried to fight back before Knockout's body went limp and he let it fall, looking to Powerglide. "Let's get him tied to the berth. Tight enough so he can't escape, but not so much that there's any marks on him."

The other flyer nodded and hoisted the medic's body onto the berth, grabbing the scarves Starscream had found and beginning to securely tie the redhead's hands to the headboard. He had to work fast since chloroform wasn't exactly long-lasting. Powerglide finished and hesitated, glancing over to where Starscream was seated at Knockout's bound feet, and then at the vidscreen. The video was playing on a loop. The flyer felt his blood begin to boil again as he watched Knockout slamming himself between the Seeker's legs, though a particularly loud cry from the onscreen Starscream brought him back to his senses. HE wanted to be the one to do this. HE wanted to be the one to kill Knockout. "Starscream?" he asked, watching as Knockout slowly opened his eyes.

Starscream turned the video up louder so no one would hear if Knockout foolishly tried to scream. "Yeah?"

"...Can I actually do this one?"

The Seeker paused then and looked back to him. "You want to?" Powerglide had never seemed the type.

The brunette slowly nodded.

"...Alright then." Starscream took Knockout's pistol from his belt and spun it before holding the grip end out to his partner. "Just make sure it looks like he did it."

By now, Knockout was wide awake again and staring up at the two of them in a mixture of confusion and panic. "What? What is going on?! Starscream?! What are you doing?!" 

Powerglide snarled and glared down at the other before grabbing the gun. "Shut up!" He raised his arm, about to smack the medic across the face with the butt of the gun when Starscream caught him by the wrist.

"We can't have any marks on him," he reminded the other firmly.

Powerglide seemed to shrink a little under his Commander's gaze. "Sorry, Starscream," he said softly, smiling sheepishly under the almost amused grin his superior was giving him and reaching his free hand forward and round back the Seeker's head to stroke lightly through the long black hair and urge him into a quick kiss.

Starscream snorted but complied. He supposed he enjoyed being with someone who tried to be protective just a little. Even if he didn't particularly need the protection. At least it was amusing to him to see Powerglide try to play the tough guy.

Once the kiss broke, Powerglide turned to glare back down at Knockout. "You're lucky he's here to calm me."

Knockout bared his teeth up at the flyers in a snarl.

"Yeah, see, if he wasn't here, I would have just punched those perfect white teeth out of that smarmy little face of yours, you sick freak!"

"What do you want?" Knockout was mostly looking to the Air Commander. He was far less uncouth than his subordinate.

Starscream just crossed his arms and remained silent, giving Knockout the coldest stare the redhead thought he'd ever seen from the Seeker, the video of their night together looping and starting over in the background.

Knockout's heart was racing and he tore his eyes away from Starscream's gaze. That was what it was, wasn't it? It was the video. Slag, if he could take that night back now.... He swallowed and looked to the brunette again. "Please...Powerglide...whatever it is, I'm sor-"

"You should have thought about that before you made the video," the flyer snapped, cutting him off icily. "Now you have to pay for it." He grabbed the chloroform-soaked cloth and shoved it over Knockout's nose and mouth again, holding it firmly against him until the medic went limp and then untying one of Knockout's hands. Taking the now free hand in his own, Powerglide placed the gun against the medic's head and used Knockout's finger to pull the trigger, the sound of the video easily covering the muffled blast as Knockout's head jerked to one side and blood splattered against the wall.

Starscream nodded, watching. "Good work. Untie him. take the scarves we used, the rag, and the gloves." He grabbed a bag to place everything in. "We store it all in your room to dispose of later. We leave no trace here. Leave the video on. Let them find him and think he died feeling ashamed of the filth he created. We return to your quarters before hitting our next target."

With everything gathered, the two flyers left the medic's room to allow whoever found Knockout's body to see just how he'd contributed to the Seeker's pain.


	18. Chapter 18

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In this chapter: Another character death! Yay!

"Where is Sunstreaker now?" Powerglide asked, trying to keep his voice calm as he disposed of the bag of evidence in his trash and cleaned any of the blood spatter from their encounter with Knockout off his face.

"Just getting back. High as a kite." Starscream grinned, peeling off his latex gloves in favor of leather ones with the idea that they'd be booking it to the jets right afterwards. "This will be easy."

"What makes you say that?" The other flyer walked back over to lean against his partner on the berth. He was still a little shaken up from executing Knockout, but at the same time, it had been oddly exhilarating. And the payback was worth it.

Starscream glanced at him and wrapped his arms around the other's waist, laying back and pulling Powerglide over him. "He's so slagging wasted we can probably just walk right in." He laughed, kissing his partner on the nose. They were so close now to being free.

Powerglide grinned back at him and returned the kiss, albeit to his Commander's lips. "...And then we leave this place..."

"And get bonded, yes."

Those words alone coming from Starscream's mouth were enough to push Powerglide to finish this mission. He pulled back from his Commander's arms and stood, urging the Seeker to stand with him. "Let's go then," he said eagerly. The flyer pulled on his own gloves and headed for the door while Starscream just smirked and shook his head in amusement, following.

"You're sure you're prepared to go in there again?" the Seeker asked as they made their way down the hall. 

"I...I think so..." Powerglide took a breath. "Yeah. I'm prepared. I know exactly what to expect this time."

Starscream nodded. "Good. If you need to step out or just go into his washroom or something and block it all out for a moment..."

"Yeah, I know..."

They stopped in front of the door again. "Let's just knock this time and see what happens, shall we? Oh...and I'M killing this one." The Seeker was more than pissed off about Sunstreaker's meddling in their relationship.

The subordinate flyer just shrugged and nodded, knocking lightly at the door.

"IT'S UNLOCKED!" called the inebriated-sounding voice from inside.

Starscream let out a snort and they stepped in. Sunstreaker was sitting up in his berth, looking completely dazed, a rather familiar-smelling haze wafting through the air of the room. He nodded at the two as they came in. "Sup, guys?" It was almost as though there'd never been any conflict at all.

Powerglide raised an eyebrow. Starscream just grinned. This was too perfect.

"What brings you two by?"

"You invited us; don't you remember?" The Seeker gave his partner a "just go with it" look as he answered.

"Oh..." The blonde thought (or tried to think) for a moment before nodding. "Oh yeah. Hey, Powerglide, you got anymore weed, man?"

The flyer crossed his arms. "Sorry, Sunny. All out. You bought it all, remember?" He couldn't help but be slightly annoyed at the question, even if he was just "playing along".

"...Isn't that what I called for?"

By now, Starscream was looking around the room, feigning curiosity at the various things on Sunstreaker's shelves, when he was really just waiting for the opportune moment to kill the slagger. "...No...don't think that was it," he replied. "Generally you don't invite us both for that..." 

A good point. Sunstreaker stared curiously at Starscream while he tried to think of a reason why'd he'd invite the Seeker over. Unless.... "OH! Starscream agreed to that threesome then?"

Powerglide froze and Starscream seemed to stiffen, though the Seeker turned around soon after and gave his partner a rather devious look. The other flyer didn't seem to catch it, however, because he looked about ready to tear Sunstreaker a new asshole. "Sunny! What the f-"

"THAT'S what it was!" Starscream intervened, as though just remembering it. "How could I forget? And we were planning this for a while too, right?"

Sunstreaker nodded eagerly, eyes firmly planted on the Seeker's hips.

Starscream grinned and grabbed Powerglide's wrist. "Give us a moment," he said, pulling his partner into the twin's washroom for a little chat. 

"What do you think you're doing?!" Powerglide hissed at him once the door slid shut.

"Powerglide, calm down. Nothing is going to happen. I'm going to toy with him a little to get him relaxed before I kill him."

"Well why can't you just kill him then?!"

The Seeker sighed. "Because it needs to look like he did it, remember?"

The other flyer remained unconvinced, however, and crossed his arms. "I don't want him touching you!"

"He won't touch me."

"Well I don't want you stripping for him either."

"I'm not-" Starscream sighed again, frustrated. "Listen to me. I am JUST seducing him so that I can get close enough to kill him and make it look like an overdose. I've literally done this to hundreds of men before."

"Yes, well, you've literally SLEPT with hundreds of men before as well," Powerglide replied bitterly.

Starscream crossed his own arms then and stared icily at his partner for the comment.

The brunette flinched under his Commander's gaze. "I...I'm sorry, Starscream," he stammered. "I don't know where that came from. I shouldn't have said that."

"You need to trust me!"

"I do! I do trust you!" the other insisted frantically. "It's HIM I don't trust." He jerked his head towards the door.

"He is an idiot. I will take care of it." Starscream uncrossed his arms and moved forward to lightly kiss the other.

Powerglide sighed and accepted it, returning the gesture. "Alright, just....I guess if touching you HAS to happen...as long as your clothes are on..." It almost seemed like he was in pain trying to say this. "...Just promise you won't kiss him?"

Starscream smiled gently at his subordinate. "You're the only one allowed to kiss me. And my clothes will stay on," he promised, watching his lover relax visibly.

"Alright...go ahead then." Powerglide fidgeted a little. "I'll just...stay in here...that might be better..."

"Probably for the best. We don't want an investigation into why Sunstreaker was strangled, do we?" Starscream caressed the other's cheek. "I'll call for you when we're just about done. We're going to have to get out fast if we want to avoid his brother." He moved back to leave but Powerglide still looked so anxious. "There aren't any drugs in here, are there?" the Seeker asked, hesitant to leave his partner.

"Don't think so. Still feels too familiar though." Powerglide anxiously moved around in his seat. "Please just hurry back?"

"...Do you want to head down to the hangar and wait for me there?"

The flyer shook his head. "No. I want to be near you for this sort of thing. I'll be alright."

Starscream nodded but undid his coat then and handed it to the other. "Here," he said as his partner took it in his hands. "Hold onto this. Maybe it'll help you keep focus or something."

Powerglide buried his face in the coat the second it was in his hands, inhaling deeply and taking in the Seeker's scent, so relieved to find that it did help soothe his mind a bit. He nodded to his lover. "Thank you, Starscream."

"Of course. I'll try to be quick." With that, the Seeker turned and left, reentering Sunstreaker's quarters and feeling much less nervous about leaving his partner alone for the moment.

Sunstreaker grinned when he saw the raven-haired Seeker emerge from the washroom, noting his lack of coat. "What? Started stripping already?" he asked, beckoning the other over to his reclined position on the berth.

"Hope you don't mind. The jacket was too warm. And there's plenty more to remove," Starscream replied, hips swaying as he slowly made his way over. He removed his weapons belt and set it on the berthside table before crawling up onto Sunstreaker's lap and straddling him.

"Where's Powerglide?" The blonde twin ran his hands up and down the Seeker's sides for the moment.

"He's letting us get better hmm..."acquainted" before he joins us." Starscream grinned at the other, red eyes glowing brightly in the dim lighting. 

"Hm." Sunstreaker gave him an appreciative glance over, sitting up straighter on the berth and reaching round to daringly cup the Air Commander's lovely ass. "Mmm...there it is," the blonde twin hissed, rubbing and squeezing it through the Seeker's tight pants. "Been wanting to grab that thing since your human form started getting all sexually confusing and shit." He grinned through his drugged haze. "You know we all say it ain't gay if it's with you, right?" He snorted. "And that ass of yours is just begging to be spanked!"

Starscream raised an eyebrow, unimpressed on several levels. "Wow, that's...very...eloquent of you, Sunstreaker..."

The blonde just smirked in response, snaking a hand up the Seeker's spine before quite suddenly grabbing the long black hair and twisting it in his fist. He yanked Starscream forward then, collapsing the slighter mech against him.

Starscream hissed. The blonde was being a little rough for his liking, although admittedly he wouldn't have minded if Powerglide were to pull a stunt like that. he shivered then, feeling a finger traveling down his spine before a firm smack was delivered to his rear, followed by another.

"You like that, Seeker?" the drunk twin slurred out, panting lightly against the other mech's ear. He began moving his hips under the other as well, just starting to stiffen with arousal. "How about you give us a little kiss before you get down there and work magic with that hot mouth of yours." He didn't even wait for a reply, twisting the hair in his hand again and turning the other's head towards him.

Starscream acted fast, getting an arm between them and pushing back. "Yeah, hey, Sunny? How about something to take the edge off first?"

Sunstreaker loosened his grip then and smirked again. "What, afraid it'll hurt? Thought you were into that. Your mouth should be plenty of lube, baby." 

The Seeker rolled his eyes for what felt like the billionth time and decided to appeal to Sunstreaker's favourite thing: his oversized ego. "You don't want to hurt me TOO much, do you, baby?" he purred, trailing a finger down Sunny's chest. "You still gotta share me with Powerglide and if you aren't careful with that thick, juicy cock of yours-" As he said this, he brought a hand down between the other's legs and just barely squeezed. "we might never get to have fun again." Starscream just barely managed to keep a straight face while he said all this.

Sunstreaker nodded, totally buying it. "There's some bottles over in the cooler. Make yourself something to drink while I mix some chems here." He gave another hard spank to Starscream's ass as the Seeker got up and headed over to the aforementioned cooler.

"Want anything?"

"Yeah. There's a bottle of 151. Let's have that. You should try it too if you want to relax." Though with the shit he was preparing, mixing it together would more than likely just get Starscream fucked up. Not that it mattered to Sunny though. As long as the Seeker was alive and his legs were spread, Sunstreaker didn't really give a fuck.

Starscream took a small sip of the stuff just so his breath would smell as though he'd already drank his before he poured a doubleshot for the blonde and brought it over. He handed it to the other. "I drank mine already. Shit's nasty."

The twin laughed and drank his. "Yeah, but it works." He pulled the Seeker onto his lap again. "Here. Try this." He handed Starscream the syringe that he'd prepared. 

The Seeker looked at it, feigning confusion. "...Show me?"

"...You serious?" He pulled Starscream's arm forward and looked at his veins. "Huh. Look at that. You're a little virgin, aren't ya?"

"...Sunstreaker, I haven't been called that in a LOOOONG time," the Seeker replied with a snort, getting a laugh out of the blonde. 

"Yeah, yeah. Okay. Like this." Sunstreaker pushed the needle into his own vein, hissing as he pushed about half the substance in. They could just share the needle. That was when his comm started ringing and he frowned. "It's my brother. I have to take it." He handed the needle over and answered his comm. "Yeah, Sides?"

Starscream took the opportunity to draw some more of the substance up into the syringe.

"Sunny? Where are you? We gotta talk." 

"I'm in our room, but...dude, can this wait? Kinda busy here..."

"No. It's can't wait. Mikaela and I went out for a late drive and got to talking a lot. We need to see you. We're on our way back. See you in 15." There was no room for questions. The dark-haired twin cut the call.

"Fuckin' Sideswipe," the blonde hissed, looking back to his berth companion. "You gonna inject that shit or what?"

"Already did. Your turn, remember? Fresh needle."

"Is it?" Sunstreaker shook his head, clearly having trouble thinking. "Nevermind, give here. We've got 15 minutes. That's enough for a good quickie at least." His movements were becoming sluggish by now and he fumbled the syringe.

"Let me help," the Seeker offered, taking it and leaning Sunny back against the headboard. He pushed the needle into the twins' vein and slowly emptied all of it's contents into him. "Now, relax. Let me pleasure you." He watched the other. Watched his delayed reaction as he nodded to the Seeker in acknowledgment. Watched as his breathing began to slow and his eyes rolled back. Watched as he finally began to pale and his chest stopped rising at all. Perfect, Starscream thought. The asphyxiation would take care of the rest. 15 minutes was plenty of time for death to take hold. It was not plenty of time, however, for them to escape the base. Especially not if Sideswipe and Mikaela were coming from the direction of the hanger. The Seeker quickly grabbed all of his belongings and summoned Powerglide from the washroom. "New plan," he said. "We're going to have to wait it out for a bit. Back to your quarters." He hurried the other flyer out of the room, making sure to keep close to him, not just to protect him from thinking about his old drug habits, but also to protect him from the site of his former friend overdosing on the berth.


	19. Chapter 19

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In this chapter: Sideswipe perspective, background on Starscream's involvement with the Autobots, discovery of the bodies

Sideswipe felt the cold loneliness the second he entered the hanger and parked the car, his eyes widening. He gripped his own chest and let out a loud gasp of air. "...Sunny?!" The twin already knew what was happening but he could hardly believe it. He scrambled to get his seat belt off, muttering to himself the whole time in a panic while Mikaela looked on, concerned and confused.

"Sideswipe? What's wrong?"

"No! No no no no no...Sunny, don't do this!" The darker-haired twin finally freed himself of the contraption and threw the door open, practically flying out and down the hall toward his brother, pinging their bond the entire way while the human female chased after him. He didn't even notice, in his haste, the two flyers that had ducked around the corner to the rec room at the last second, narrowly avoiding being seen.... Sideswipe barreled into his room after entering his door code and saw his brother on the berth, lying completely still. He hurried over and shook the blonde, trying to wake him. Nothing. He tried again, a small whimper escaping his lips. Still nothing. "Sunny, please! Please don't do this!"

Mikaela finally caught up and placed her hands over her mouth, gasping in shock at what she saw before turning to run back out of the room and down to the medbay.

 

Starscream narrowed his eyes, holding Powerglide close against him as they pressed against the wall and listened quietly. Sideswipe had returned far sooner than anticipated and with the racket he was making, others would awaken soon as well. They would need to move fast to avoid detection. 

Powerglide frowned. Sideswipe's anguished wails upon discovering his brother's body were easily heard down the hall and the flyer found himself questioning their actions. He looked up at his Commander. "...Did we do the right thing?" the flyer asked hesitantly. 

Starscream stared back at him through calculating red eyes. It was so easy to forget sometimes that they'd both come from what seemed like two completely different worlds. That this was an Autobot he'd ended up falling for. And that they'd been trained to fight for justice, peace, freedom, and all that hippy bullslag. Sure, Starscream technically fought for the Autobots these days, but he didn't really consider himself one of them. He certainly didn't FEEL like an Autobot. He was a Decepticon. Just...not what they'd become now. 

Megatron had once preached about fighting for Cybertron's best interests rather than going out and using precious resources to help everyone else, and about overthrowing the overwhelmingly corrupt Cybertronian government, at the time led by Sentinal Prime. That had been something that Starscream had actually believed in. But once Sentinal had been defeated and the Matrix chose Megatron's brother as the next Prime....The Decepticon Leader had changed, as had his ideals. It was no longer a war over which side had the planet's best interests at spark, but rather a war about who had the biggest cock. It was Megatron on a fragging powertrip. It had turned into an all-out personal mission to kill his brother. And the Decepticon soldiers were trained to be ruthless, murderous, sociopathic killing-machines who had little in the way of self-control. In time, Starscream grew sick of it, just as he grew sick of working for such a reckless megalomaniac. So while Megatron had made it his personal mission to kill Optimus Prime, his young Lieutenant had soon made it his own personal mission to kill Megatron. He'd even succeeded at one point. 

Unfortunately, it wasn't all that easy and he just ended up on his newly resurrected leader's shit list. Fortunately, his resume was quite impressive, and, as fate would have it, the evil warlord's brother lacked an organized team of flyers. Starscream just happened to have a reputation in that area. Still...it never really felt permanent. The Seeker shook his head, leaning in to rub his nose against Powerglide's. "You can't think about it like that," he murmured. Then he looked round the corner. Now was as good a time as any. "We have to move." He grabbed his partner's hand and pulled him along as they finally made it back to the room to lay low for a while.

 

When no one was in medbay, the human's internal alarms started to go off. Mikaela didn't know what to do, so she pulled the fire alarm. Of course, that got a rise. Mechs came pouring out of their rooms. Confusion seemed to overtake the halls. Most were running towards the exits to try and escape the "fire", while others were convinced that this was actually a warning for a Decepticon attack. It wasn't until the Senior Officers arrived that any semblance of order could be restored.

Jazz saw the frightened human female standing by the pulled alarm and immediately knew that she'd done it. He turned the thing off and pulled her to the side to find out why, paling as she shakily told him what had transpired. Then he turned back to Prowl and the two others that made up their dwindling group of Senior Officers, almost forgetting for a moment that they were down two members. "We need ta get everyone back ta their rooms," he said in a deathly even tone. "An then two a us gotta get to the twins' room. Know fer a fact I need Ratchet fer that." He nodded to the medic with a sigh. "Optimus, sir. You an' Prowl need ta check on Knockout. He ain't in medbay."

No one questioned Jazz taking charge on this. The look in his eyes said it was serious enough. They all just moved quickly, doing their part to get everyone calm and back to their quarters before splitting up into the two pairs and going to the two mechs' rooms. Optimus and Prowl headed to find Knockout, and Jazz and Ratchet headed to deal with Sideswipe.

The first thing the Autobot Leader and his Second in Command noticed as they approached the missing medic's room was the odd sound coming from inside. Surely, Knockout hadn't skipped out on his shift to have a frag, had he? Under any other circumstance, either Commander would have found that scenario semi-amusing, but after Prowl had Jazz explain what exactly had happened over their bond and then relaying the information to Optimus Prime, neither of the two officers found the idea even remotely humourous. Though Prowl was curious as they stood outside the door and listened... That voice they heard inside... There was no way it was... "Starscream?" Prowl mouthed, looking over to Optimus, who looked equally as perplexed.

The Autobot Leader's brow was furrowed in confusion. It made absolutely no sense on several levels, but it certainly sounded like the Seeker, yes. He entered his override code to unlock the door and they both walked in, simultaneously gasping at the gruesome site before them. Two deaths in one night. Both self-inflicted, it seemed. The Prime's eyes wandered to the vidscreen. To the source of the voice they'd heard, the video of Starscream being fucked into the berth like some kind of animal playing, though Optimus hardly registered what he was seeing. The Prime felt so lost. He shook his head and paused the video, studying Starscream's face. There had to be a connection somehow, and yet, other than the previous failed relationship between the two of them, none presented itself that would explain the Seeker's involvement with this. Add to the fact that he was still locked away below ground.

Optimus looked back to the body of the redhead, crestfallen. He couldn't help but wonder what signs had been missed. What they could have done to prevent this from happening. The same with Sunstreaker, though his addiction problem had made his demise sadly less shocking. The Prime regretted losing him no less, however. The Autobot Leader looked to his Second after a moment and sighed. "We better get the coffee up in the conference room, Prowl. We're in for a long night."


	20. Chapter 20

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In this chapter: The Autobots deal with the loss of two teammates while Starscream and Powerglide prepare to leave.  
> As always, please read and review.

It was morning before any of the officers had a chance to sit down for a meeting. The remainder of the night had been spent analyzing and documenting both of the rooms and the bodies in a search for answers, before finally sending the two corpses down to medbay, and cleaning the mess. Ratchet would run autopsies, though it was pretty clear the deaths would be ruled suicides, or at least one suicide and one unintentional overdose. The medic was also left to deal with counseling Sideswipe. Luckily, Wheeljack was able to help out with that.

Once the rooms were cleared out and the autopsies finished, the four remaining Senior Officers met in the conference room, whatever evidence had been gathered was sealed in bags and placed in the centre of the table. 

Optimus Prime walked in and wearily sat in his seat, a cup of coffee in hand. He nodded to the others, who looked equally as tired. "Ratchet." He spoke softly. Losing his soldiers, whether it be to death or demonic possession, was wearing on him far more than anything his brother had ever done during this war had. First it was Powerglide's death, then Starscream gave up and let Unicron take him. Ironhide was murdered by Unicron (Optimus refused to place the blame on Starscream's shoulders for that), and now Knockout had killed himself and Sunstreaker had overdosed. All in the last month. The Autobot Commander shook himself from his thoughts and rubbed his eyes. "Ratchet," he said again. "What did you find?"

"The autopsy results were pretty straight forward, Optimus," the Chief Medic replied. "Cause of death on Knockout: bullet to the head. No marks on him to indicate a fight, nothing that would indicate any foul play." He lay some pictures out on the table in front of him. "As for Sunstreaker." Ratchet shook his head and lay those pictures out as well. "Riddled with track parks; eroding esophagus. Tox screen levels show he was basically a walking pharmacy." He lay down some charts and shook his head again. "But no signs of foul play. Cause of death: asphyxiation due to drug overdose."

 

Slipstream was visiting Sideswipe in the medbay. He didn't want to leave. Wanted to stay close to his brother, he said. When the official announcement of the deaths was made, the femme could hardly believe it and had rushed to comfort the distraught twin. Soundwave was sitting on the cot across from them, watching. The femme had her arm wrapped around Sideswipe, rubbing his back while he kept insisting, over and over, that Sunny wouldn't be that stupid. That someone had killed his brother.

The telepath found this odd and gave his girlfriend a look that said as much. 'What if he's right?' He spoke directly into her mind.

She stared at him and raised an eyebrow. 'He;s just in shock, Soundwave.'

'How can you be so sure?'

'It was an OVERDOSE, Soundwave.'

The telepath stood then to calmly take his leave. 'We'll see, won't we.'

 

"Jazz. Prowl. What did you find?" the Prime asked. 

"Blood spatter in Knockout's room was consistent with the idea that he shot himself," Prowl replied. "Knockout's fingerprints were the only ones on the gun. No evidence that anyone else was int he room." As he said this, Prowl laid out his own set of photos. Then Jazz spoke up. "Same with Sunstreaker. Only his prints on everything. No one else was in that room."

 

Soundwave made his way to Knockout's quarters. He didn't have an override card to get in, but he didn't particularly need one. The telepath could sense that something was wrong even as he stood outside the door. The air around him seemed to get very thick and very tense. Everything felt quieter and almost seemed colder. His spark started to race. Soundwave backed away from the room and quickly headed towards Sunstreaker's quarters.

 

"And...the video." The Prime sighed. "The one found in Knockout's room."

Jazz cocked his head. "Video?"

Optimus nodded. "It was playing when we found him." He slid the disk forward. "Pornographic material featuring him and Starscream."

Jazz's eyes widened and he grabbed the disk. "This'll be the video that caused tha fight between Powerglide an Starscream then!" He'd heard rumours about it, but had no actual proof that it existed.

Optimus sighed again. "Starscream looks..." He shook his head. "He doesn't look all there. I don't know exact details of what went on between them. I assume you'll'll watch it to see if you can get any information out of it, though I would prefer not to see anymore of it myself." He swallowed. "I may go try to speak to Starscream, actually." If Starscream was at all himself anymore. He wasn't sure, after what had happened with Ironhide the other day.

 

Soundwave made it to Sunny's room only to have the same cold feeling of terror strike him. Sideswipe was right. The deaths that had occurred were not natural. And they were definitely not accidental. The telepath knew that there was only one force evil enough to leave behind this terrifying of an aura, however. And if the Autobots thought they could contain it in some cell, then they truly were delusional.

 

"I'll go with you," Prowl offered. "Ratchet may need to watch the video with Jazz. Figure out if some kind of trauma should be taken into account and plan accordingly, and you should have some backup down there. We don't know what he'll do. Plus, I should probably bring him some energon or something."

The Prime thought for a moment before nodding. "Very well. Meeting adjourned for now." He rubbed his face once more. "I still have hope that we may yet be able to save one of our own." Then he sighed and added, " If the darkness hasn't yet consumed him entirely at least."

Prowl clapped him on the shoulder. "We'll get him back," he said confidently. "Now let's go visit our Seeker."

The officers left the conference room and, as Prowl and Optimus walked past the rec room, Prowl grabbed a cube of energon to bring to Starscream. That was when Soundwave showed up."

"Prime," he said, nodding in a polite greeting.

"What can I do for you, Soundwave?" The Autobot Commander replied as they continued making their way toward the brig.

"It's Unicron," the telepath responded vaguely.

"What?"

"Unicron," he repeated. Then he sighed. "The deaths that took place were not natural."

"...I'm not at liberty to discus that, Soundwave." The Prime moved to walk past him and towards the door to the brig but Soundwave firmly grabbed hold of his arm. Possibly a foolish move. Luckily for him though, Optimus had the patience of a Saint.

"Unicron is playing with you," Soundwave warned in a low voice.

"Oh, for Primus' sake!" Prowl rolled his eyes and walked into the surveillance room, pointing at the cameras. "Look. He's right there. Right where we left him." On the screen, an image of what appeared to be Starscream was, indeed, still there. He appeared to be asleep at the moment, curled in the corner of the room.

Soundwave moved over and stared at the monitor, unable to explain it, meanwhile, the Prime just crossed his arms and stared at the other with a stern look. "Well?"

"...Fine," the former Decepticon relented. "I'm coming with though."

"And you may." Optimus summoned the others behind him and turned back to the brig entrance.

Prowl quickly unlocked it and they entered, making their way though. 

"There's something I'd been wondering about, if I might be able to pick your brain...er...processor, for a moment, Optimus?" Soundwave said suddenly while they walked.

"And what would that be?" The Autobot Commander had the feeling that the telepath would read his mind no matter his answer, so he would have to guard his thoughts carefully.

"I'd been wondering if this experience made you regret letting us in. Knowing what you know now, would you have made the same choice?"

Optimus blinked. An unexpected question. "I cannot blame this on Starscream."

"Maybe not, but would you have still let us in your base? Knowing you'd lose your own men in the process?" They walked down the stairs as they spoke.

"I do not regret allowing you to join this team. I would not change anything aside from trying to solve this issue sooner." He faced the telepath. "Soundwave, you are asking me if I regret allowing you all the chance at freedom, or if I would force you to stay on the base with that monster. I promised Starscream that I would never allow Megatron to harm him again, and I've since extended that promise to the rest of you. I regret nothing."

The slightest smile came to Soundwave's face, the thoughts he was reading from the Prime's mind indicating that all of this was true. "That is all I needed to hear," he replied as calmly as ever, continuing to walk.

The Prime said nothing in response as they approached the large door to Starscream's cell. 

Prowl carefully entered his passcode before unlocking the deadbolts and sliding the large door open. Then they entered while Soundwave observed.

Starscream was in fact huddled in the corner, completely unconscious. He was likely out cold due to lack of energon. What had it been, three days now? Probably not the best care on the part of the Autobots, but they hadn't had a clue what to do about him. 

Optimus took the cube and slowly approached with Prowl at his side, hand on his gun. Even with Starscream's hands and feet bound, they were being cautious. They weren't sure if it was really their teammate they were dealing with or...something else entirely. 

Soundwave didn't like the feel of the room. Not one bit. It felt too much like the rooms upstairs had. "Optimus," he said softly. "This doesn't feel right to me..."

Optimus got to where the Seeker lay and knelt down, nodding at Prowl to release his gun. Starscream was simply trapped in recharge. He reached down and propped Starscream up, leaning the Air Commander against his shoulder, noting how overheated he felt. "Perhaps we should have Ratchet take a look at him once we've spoken to him. He may be running a fever," he murmured to his Second in Command. "For now, let's see if the energon won't wake him."

Prowl nodded and took the cube, lifting it to Starscream's lips. The second he began to pour, however, the Seeker's body suddenly went up in flames and became nothing more than a pile of ashes on the floor. Prowl and the Prime could only stare at each other in stunned silence before realizing what had happened and springing to their feet to run for the door. It slammed shut though, right in their faces, locking itself and scrambling the password.

Soundwave frantically tried hacking the terminal, only to have the thing shock him when he got close to solving it. The telepath cursed and sent both Autobots a mental promise to get them out of that room before booking it up the stairs to find help.

 

Elsewhere on base...Powerglide was just walking out of his washroom with a towel around his waist, sopping wet and mussing up his hair with another towel, a trail of water following him, when he saw Starscream standing by the berth, zipping up his coat and cocking his pistol. "Hey...uh...what're you doing?" the brunette asked, eyeing the duffle bag full of rifles that was on the berth. Starscream with one gun was sexy. But Starscream with ALL the guns was kind of frightening.

The Seeker eyed his partner's dripping form as he cocked a second pistol and shoved it in his belt. "Get yourself dried off and get ready," he replied shortly. "It's time to leave."


	21. Chapter 21

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Humanized AU based on RP with crack pairing
> 
> In this chapter: Starscream and Powerglide make their escape...or do they?
> 
> Shorter chapter. Apologies in advance. Anticipating writing a lot in the next chapter.

"Aren't we waiting til' tonight?" Powerglide asked, confused.

"Plans changed," the Seeker responded. He seemed to be in a hurry.

Powerglide didn't question it. He just hurriedly got ready, quickly drying himself and throwing clothes on. "Do we have everything we need?" He'd made sure to throw some essentials - food, some clothing, and cash - into a bag. Luckily, between the two of them, they had quite a bit of money saved up, especially with Starscream's considerably larger Officer's income.

"Think so. Let's just-" He froze then and grabbed his pistol, signaling his partner to hide quick. Someone was hacking the door control. Starscream flattened against the wall next to the door and waited for the intruder, gun in hand.

 

Soundwave was outside the room, working on the control and trying to break in. He knew the two deaths weren't natural, and he knew Unicron had tricked them. That meant his "avatar" or whatever the Pit you would call it, was still on this base. The telepath needed to stop Starscream, even if he wasn't entirely sure how. Since everyone had thought Powerglide dead and Starscream locked away, the logical place for once or both to be hiding (Soundwave wasn't sure if Powerglide had actually come back or not) would be Powerglide's room. The former Decepticon managed to bypass the lock, walking into the room as the door slid open. 

Unfortunately for Soundwave, he was right.

Starscream grabbed his former teammate the by the throat the second he walked in and threw him to the ground with enough force to make the telepath's head bounce off the floor rather painfully. Planting one knee on the centre of Soundwave's chest and the other over his thigh, the Seeker held the intruder down by the shoulder and shoved his gun in the other's face. "Don't you know how to knock, Soundwave?"

It took the ex-Communications Officer a moment to shake the dazed feeling as he stared up at the Seeker, and at the gun. "Starscream. I see your reflexes haven't slowed one bit," he managed to shoot back weakly. He couldn't help but notice the strange orange colour that looked to be consuming his former teammate's eyes. 

The Seeker just growled down at the other. "What are you doing here?"

He had come to stop them, but with the amount of energy he could feel radiating off of Starscream right now, he thought maybe lying would be better and lessen his chance of being killed. "Slipstream still thinks you're locked up, remember? After that fiasco with Ironhide?" Soundwave grit his teeth. "It was bad enough, the way you hurt her by choosing to leave your body. But then you sell yourself out to Unicron and murder her friends?!" Soundwave scowled. "What kind of brother are you?!"

The gun clicked.

The telepath swallowed. He'd gotten ahead of himself. Again. "A...anyway, she's still convinced you'll be saved. And she wanted to surprise you when you're back. You know how she is when she gets her ideas."

Starscream growled. "I know how you are when you're lying-"

"You really want to fire off that gun in this base and have everyone run this way?" Soundwave challenged. "And do you really want your sister knowing her brother murdered the mech she loves?"

"Starscream..." a voice from across the room called to him. Soundwave looked to it's owner and blinked. It seemed Powerglide was alive as well then. Interesting. "Starscream, you said we were in a hurry," the other flyer reminded him, hardly paying attention to Soundwave. The telepath did force a message into the other's mind though, which made the brunette turn and stare at him, almost frightened.

_He is not the same mech you fell for. Do not follow him._

"We are in a hurry, baby," Starscream replied in a deathly even tone, eyes glowing as he stared down at Soundwave in an almost predatory fashion. "Just a minor distraction is all." He clicked the safety back on his gun before hitting the telepath over the head with it, knocking him out cold. "We can go now." The Seeker rose and turned to his lover, smiling at him and grabbing his bag as he walked past.

Powerglide returned the smile and followed, though a feeling of dread began to form in his stomach. What if Soundwave was right to warn him?

The flyers made their way through the halls of the base. Everything seemed fairly quiet. Most of the mechs were sticking to their rooms after what had happened the previous night. The few that were out of their quarters seemed to be in the rec room, and hardly looked up at the sound of footsteps passing by. Getting to the hanger was easy.

They loaded their jets before Powerglide spoke. "Ready to go?" he asked, somewhat apprehensively. 

Starscream took out his gun and clicked the safety off as he turned back to the base. "You go," he said in the same cold tone. "I have unfinished business to take care of."


	22. Chapter 22

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I know it's been a while since the last chapter. Apologies for that. A lot of life stuff going on.
> 
> In this chapter: Exactly what did Soundwave mean by the warning he gave to Powerglide?

Starscream didn't know why he felt so out of it, but the entire morning he'd been fighting off this fatigued, almost nauseous feeling, that kept creeping up. He hoped he wasn't getting one of those human illnesses; they always seemed so...mucous-y. Either way, getting sick was not something he wanted to do at the moment. 

The feeling seemed to come to a head after Starscream finished showering and had begun getting ready. He swallowed it though, determined not to let it slow him. As soon as Powerglide went to take his own shower, however, the Seeker felt a nauseating flash of heat flow through him and found himself on the floor, shaking and drenched in his own sweat. It was hot. Much too hot. And he couldn't move. Worse yet, he was finding it hard to keep his eyes open. Starscream tried to call out to his partner, but a harsh whisper was the only sound he could manage before his eyelids were forced shut and everything went black.

 

When the Seeker came to, he found that he wasn't in their quarters anymore. He really wasn't anywhere anymore. Wherever he was, or rather, wasn't, seemed to be void of any real sense of meaning. He also felt as though he was seated on something, yet nothing. Whatever this place was apparently liked to laugh in the face of physics, and for someone who had intended to devote much of his life to science, Starscream found himself much more intrigued than concerned as he stood to look around. He wanted to study this place. The concept of sound, of time, of reason, even of life, seemed meaningless here. It made no logical sense. Then again, the Seeker figured, turning and locking eyes with Unicron, recently he'd made the discovery that nothing necessarily HAD to make sense anymore. 

"So..." Starscream began, crossing his arms and continuing to glance around at the vast nothingness, "This is your void?"

"This is that, yes," the Dark God replied, eyeing the other.

"And this is where all the bad sparks go when they've been naughty?"

Unicron sighed. "No. You are thinking of the Pit. The Void is the eternal nothingness where all things must one day end, though your use of innuendo is not entirely lost on me. Rarely do sparks end here, but in extreme circumstances, it does happen." He paused a moment to observe the Seeker. "What are you thinking?"

Starscream tapped his chin a few times. "I'm thinking your extreme use of minimalism may turn me into a Nihilist. Slipstream would have a stroke if she saw how bland this place is."

Unicron snorted. "Sarcasm is the defensive tool you use to hide your true feelings. I know you, Starscream."

"Then you should already know what I'm thinking."

"I want you to verbalize it, Seeker."

The former Decepticon sighed. "I'm wondering why you dragged me here to talk. You've had no issue coming to us before."

The Dark God seemed to materialise right in front of the other, his likeness resizing to appear only a foot or so taller than the Seeker despite Starscream's current human form. Nonetheless, Unicron was an intimidating sight. He leaned close to the other, peering directly into his disciple's eyes. "We can't have interruptions and here, time has no meaning."

Starscream almost glared back at the other. Yes, it was extremely unnerving to have what was essentially Cybertron's version of Satan staring you down, but the Seeker wasn't going to allow Unicron to sense any fear on him. "What. Do. You. Want?" he ground out, growing steadily more irritated.

His irritation served only to amuse the Dark God, who's clawed fingers dug into his shoulders, and forced him to sit again. "You two seem to have this crazy idea that you're just going to escape that base today, don't you?"

The Seeker raised an eyebrow, hardly wincing at the claws. "And?"

"I did not bring you both back simply to have you run off into the sunset. I have a job that must be completed. You will do this for me."

Starscream sighed. Of course. "What job?"

A sharp metal claw pressed under the former Decepticon's chin, forcing him to stare up at the Chaos Bringer. "You will Destroy the Matrix of Leadership and kill Optimus Prime."

Starscream's eyes widened. "WHAT?! No! I can't!"

Unicron laughed. "Of course you can! You had no problem murdering his brother."

"That was- Optimus is NOT Megatron! He would never treat me the way Megatron did!"

"Yes he would. Of course he would. Once that bondmate of his, Elita One, goes back home to Cybertron, who will he turn to on those lonely cold nights? Ah yes, the biggest whore on the base." Unicron grinned, digging deep into the Seeker's anxiety and using his fear against him. "His brother had no problem using you, so why wouldn't Optimus? It would start off nicely though, wouldn't it? Optimus was ALWAYS the caring type, but that might get boring and he'd eventually figure out, Starscream, that your best performances truly are when you're bound, helpless, and begging for your life." The sharp claws threaded through Starscream's hair while Unicron spun this tale to him. He leaned in close to the petrified Seeker. "Kill him before he gets the chance," the Dark God whispered in the other's ear.

"SHUT UP!" the Seeker yelled. "You are disgusting! I'm not doing it!"

Unicron snorted. "A shame. I had hoped you wouldn't make that mistake. Though I suppose it was unavoidable." His fingers gripped the hair tightly and pulled while the other hand wrapped around the Seeker's neck. "On the other hand though, I guess some jobs are best left to the experts. Unfortunate that you won't get to say goodbye to that addict of yours." He smirked at the Seeker, who was clawing and kicking out, though any footing he'd once had seemed to be replaced by air in the vast nothingness of this place. "I'll give him your regards right before I roast his spark in the Pit."

Starscream struggled harder now. Wait! He changed his mind. Let him change his mind! The Seeker pleaded to his God with his eyes, which only served to make his executioner laugh. 

"Too late now, little Seeker, though feel free to keep fighting it. You do struggle so beautifully." The other hand wrapped around Starscream's neck and he squeezed harder, feeling out the delicate bones and watching the body convulse a few times and the eyes roll back. Then, in one violent motion, Unicron snapped Starscream's neck in his hands and dropped the limp body, grinning to himself as it watched it be sucked away into the void.

 

Back in Powerglide's room, Starscream's eyes opened and he got up, preparing silently for the day ahead.

Powerglide stepped out of the washroom not long after, still in a towel, still dripping wet. "Hey..uh...what're you doing?" the nosy brunette asked, eyeing the other, and the bag on guns on the berth.

Starscream glanced over the other's dripping form almost disdainfully whilst cocking a pistol and shoving it into his belt. "Get yourself dried off and get ready," he replied shortly. "It's time to leave."


	23. Chapter 23

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In this chapter: Soundwave finally gets the assistance he needs to shift things in his favour.

"Soundwave."

A throbbing pain shot through the telepath's head, accompanied by a blinding flash of white light. When he opened his eyes, he found himself amongst the stars, staring out upon the vast emptiness of space. "How is this possible?" he asked himself, freezing then as he realized that his words were coming out in a monotonous drone. But that could only mean.... Soundwave looked down at his hands...no...servos. He was back in his original form! Well that would certainly explain how he wasn't dead due to lack of oxygen, at least....amongst other things... "But how did I get here?" he wondered out loud.

"You are here because I have brought you here."

That voice. Soundwave looked around before he saw the ethereal image appear before him. "Primus?" It had to be him. There really was no other explanation. "I...." The telepath hesitated. "What is it you require of your humble servant, my Lord Primus?"

"You need not fear me, child," Primus replied. "You were chosen on my behalf to aid the Prime in removing Unicron's foul influence from your world. The time has now come for you to fulfill this role."

"How?" Soundwave asked. "I have felt the power he wields, and it is immense. And coupled with Starscream's spark mutation-"

"We will cure the mutation."

Soundwave was silent, staring up at the Creator in wonder. It was such a simple answer, and yet.... "You can do that?" The drone of his mechanical voice almost made it sound like a statement.

The faintest of smiles played at Primus' features as he stared down at his creation. "You seem to have forgotten that I am the Creator of all things, Soundwave."

A valid point. But... "You yourself stated that Starscream was not one of your children; that his spark was born of darkness. He is Unicron's creation."

The God nodded. "And so he would be cast into the Void as punishment, had his creator not already done so, as you may have already surmised."

This unsettled Soundwave. It felt as though the Seeker had never really been given a fair chance due to circumstances beyond his control. "...And Slipstream?"

"Starscream wasn't meant to exist. My brother's meddling only made it so. Slipstream is my own creation. Rest assured, she has a place in the Well when the time comes."

A slight reassurance at least. It still felt wrong, though Soundwave was not about to question his God. "My thanks, Lord Primus. How will this cure be administered?"

A vial appeared before him. "Bring this to the Prime," the God responded. "Have him douse his ammunition in it before loading his rifle. Upon shooting the Seeker in the spark, it will take effect and he will be vulnerable. And damage dealt previously will effect him, as will any dealt after. He will be as you are."

Soundwave was silent, lost in thought for a moment before speaking. "Optimus is locked in a cell along with his officers. Unicron trapped them."

"I have disengaged the locks. They will be free by the time you awaken...and the Seeker will be loose in the base."

"Then we haven't got much time."

"Indeed." Primus' ethereal form snapped his servos, immediately sending Soundwave back to his human body.

The telepath awoke with a jolt and a gasp before realizing the vial was in his hands, his human hands. That had been quite the mind trip, being back in his old form, and his spark rather ached to experience more of it. But now was not the time to focus on such things. Shaking those thoughts from his head, he sprang to his feet and ran to find the Prime.

 

Slipstream happened to be roaming the halls at that time when she came across Starscream and was suddenly ecstatic to see him. "Starscream!" She ran up to him, then spotting Powerglide, who looked extremely uneasy. "So, they managed to bring you back, huh?" She smiled at the other flyer before looking to her fellow Seeker. "And they let you out? That's great!" The femme hugged her brother tightly. "I was so worried about you!"

Starscream just grinned. "Oh, you needn't worry about me, sister," he said, an acidic edge in his voice, while his fingers tightened around the handle of his knife. He was just about to pull it from his belt when he was interrupted by another voice.

"Slipstream!"

They all looked over. It was Soundwave. 

Starscream sniffed the air and growled. "You!" he snarled. "You have been convening with Primus again, haven't you?!" He took out his gun and fired at Soundave, who immediately dodged and returned the favour by using his telepathy to briefly blind the other. Unicron may have been a God, but Starscream's body was still human.

"Slipstream!" the telepath yelled. "Slipstream! That is NOT your brother! Get away from him!"

The femme's eyes widened and she obeyed, backing away from what appeared to be her brother and running back down the hall while Soundwave bolted into the holding cell area to find the Prime.

Powerglide, for his part, was just confused and horribly conflicted. His instincts were telling him that this was wrong but....Starscream had promised that he wouldn't leave, that they would be together. And at this point he didn't have anything other than Starscream. This morning he'd been fine! And the next second... The flyer stared at what appeared to be his lover and nervously reached out to touch his shoulder. "...Star? Are you okay?" he asked.

The blindness eventually began to wear off and Starscream began to look around again. "Yes. Let's continue," he replied, starting to walk forward again.

"...I love you," Powerglide offered.

The being that inhabited Starscream's body stopped in his footsteps and glanced back at the other, grinning darkly. "Oh, I love you too," he replied in a equally dark voice, almost mocking the very idea of it.

Powerglide's spark seemed to skip a beat, though he wasn't sure if it was out of pure love for the other, or true terror. For better or for worse, however, he followed.


	24. Chapter 24

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So this is actually the end chapter, but it isn't necessarily the end itself.  
> There's still an epilogue coming, and I'll be posting a few alternate endings that I had been toying with.   
> So with that said....  
> In this chapter: The end of our story.

The Prime and Prowl were still fruitlessly trying to figure out a way out of the locked room when the lock seemed to just disengage on its own and the door slid open. The two didn't bother questioning their "luck", hurrying out of the room and back up to the main floor of the base, where they encountered Soundwave.

The telepath appeared somewhat out of breath, though he managed to explain what he'd seen, how he had spoken to Primus, and what he'd been ordered to do. Then he held the vial out to the Prime.

Naturally, Optimus had his doubts as he stared at the vial. Despite knowing that Soundwave's spark existed, by birth, closer to Primus' or Unicron's "spiritual realm" than most living beings, he was still hesitant to accept that Primus would make use of a proxy before using his own Prime. However, any doubts he had were shattered when the sound of gunshots rang out through the base, snapping him from his thoughts. He immediately took the vial, pouring it into his ammo cartridge and attaching it to his rifle while Prowl comm'd Jazz to find out what was happening.

Jazz answered, though he kept it brief. He'd been in the medbay with Ratchet when the shots were fired and immediately went to investigate, finding two bodies on the ground in the hall. Weirdly enough, neither of them appeared to have been shot at all! It seemed as though both soldiers had been killed by a sword of some kind. A rather large one, Jazz thought, as he knelt down to take a closer look. One of the mechs had been cleanly decapitated, his head slightly further down the hall, past the trail of arterial red, and the other, sliced in half at the torso, his organs spilled out out and laying in a pile for all to bear witness. 

The saboteur cringed at the unpleasant site, then noticed their guns on the ground, as well as some empty casings. They'd been the ones firing. Jazz also couldn't help but notice two sets of bloody footprints leading away from the scene. He quickly comm'd Prowl to report before heading to follow the trail. 

 

Powerglide felt sick. Like, really, really sick. How could he have been so blind to this?! Seeing Starscream....no...that couldn't have been Starscream...or was it? The flyer wasn't sure anymore! Seeing this "person" pull a sword out of seemingly thin air and disembowel his teammates was too much. It was far too much. Now Starscream, or what he thought was Starscream, had managed to destroy the locking mechanism in front of the Prime's office and force his way through the door, briskly walking to the desk to search for something.

Powerglide leaned against the wall and closed his eyes, wishing this nightmare would be over. He groaned, listening to the other practically tear the office apart in his search. "...Starscream...Starscream, stop. I...I can't do this. It's crazy. Whatever you're planning, just stop."

The Seeker glanced up from his search and bared his teeth. "What?" he asked in a mock-hurt tone. "Don't you love me anymore? " He stood back from the desk and slowly made his way towards the other, grinning at the petrified look on Powerglide's face once the other flyer had opened his eyes. "Didn't you say we'd always be together? We were supposed to bond..." By now, he had the other trapped against the wall, arms at either side of Powerglide's head.

The brunette shook, but dared to look the Seeker in the eyes, shocked, or perhaps relieved, when he saw nothing of the mech he'd grown to care for inside. "...What did you do to him?" he stuttered out.

Unicron snorted. "My, my. They weren't exaggerating when they said you weren't the brightest of sparks, were they?"

Powerglide swallowed his nerves and just glared. "What did you do to him?!" he yelled this time.

"Did you know your Seeker has a thing for breath play?" the Chaos-Bringer mocked. "I decided to test it out. Except..." He grinned even more. "I took it just a little too far. He did struggle so beautifully when I told him how I'd roast you from the inside out before dragging you to the Pit though." Unicron grabbed Powerglide by the head and began to slowly pulse waves of heat through him. "Starscream sends his regards from the Void by the way. Or at least he would, if he existed anymore."

Powerglide began to scream in agony, his body temperature starting to rise uncontrollably, sweat dripping from his pores in an attempt to cool down. He tried his best to push the other off of him, but Unicron had such a tight grip on him and he felt those claws digging into his skull. The flyer was sure this was it for him.

And that was when two shots rang out and hit Unicron square in the back. 

The God glared in annoyance and dropped Powerglide, sparing him such an unpleasant fate, at least momentarily, before turning and grinning widely at the intruder.

It was Slipstream.

She was standing in the doorway, pistol in hand, aiming at the figure of her brother. "Leave him alone!" she shouted, firing again, though she knew it had no effect.

Unicron just seemed amused by her attempt. "What an opportunity," he hissed. "Now I can say I'll have completed my little Seeker family collection, though one might have been...slightly damaged from use." He grinned before charging at her and pinning her to the ground.

"You destroyed my brother's life!" the femme yelled defiantly, kicking at him as he gripped her wrists painfully tight and she felt her own temperature begin to rise. "I won't let you destroy the person he loved too!"

Unicron let out a booming, maniacal laugh. "Love? You think what they had was love?!" He sneered at the femme, sending a flash of heat through her that singed her clothing just slightly, before leaning in to whisper in her ear. "You stupid, naive, femme. I'll let you in on something. Powerglide never LOVED your brother. Powerglide used him." He bared his teeth in a grin, holding her wrists firmly with one hand while he ran a nail down her cheek. "If not for the fact that you were taken at the time, Powerglide would have been fucking you instead. Your brother was just a conveniently willing hole to take your place. The fact that you're twins certainly helped."

Slipstream snarled and headbutted - yes, headbutted the other. "SHUT UP!" she shrieked.

Unicron had to admit that he was rather surprised by that as he felt the warm gush of Starscream's mortal blood running from his nose. The femme had quite a bit of fight in her. Just like her brother. So he figured it fitting to grab her by her pretty little neck and squeeze the life out of her. Just like her brother.

By then, Powerglide had managed to mostly recover himself and pulled himself to his feet. He took a few deep breaths before throwing himself at Unicron with a cry of rage and bodily tackling him off of the femme, hoping to help them gain an advantage. He pulled the knife from his belt then and started stabbing the other, repeatedly ramming the knife into Unicron's chest. Tears were springing to the flyer's eyes while he did this, as it appeared as though he was stabbing his beloved Starscream. "I LOVED HIM!" he screamed at the other. "I LOVED HIM AND YOU TOOK HIM FROM ME!"

Rather than try to wriggle out of the grip at this point, Unicron simply responded by sending a violent wave of energy through the room, making it erupt into flames and throwing Powerglide back against the wall with a cry of pain. He was pulled to his feet quickly, however, when Slipstream hurried over to him and rushed them both behind the Prime's desk, narrowly avoiding another wave of Unicron's flames in their panic.

 

By now, Optimus, Soundwave, and Prowl had caught up with Jazz and were plotting a course of action.

Soundwave frowned as he sensed what was happening in the room and he and Jazz entered first, just in time to see Powerglide pull Slipstream out of the way of Unicron, wielding a large two-handed sword. Prime's chair instead fell victim two it as the blade sliced downward, slicing the piece of furniture cleanly in half. 

Thankfully, the sword appeared cumbersome for someone of Starscream's slighter frame to carry and it did force Unicron to move slightly slower than he otherwise would in that body, allowing the other two to avoid being hit fairly easily.

Jazz raised his rifle scope to his eye and fired off a few quick shots at the Seeker's body just to distract him while Prowl and Optimus entered the room. 

Soundwave immediately grabbed Slipstream and pulled her out of harms way, Prowl getting Powerglide out of the line of fire as well, despite the brunette's protests.

Unicron snarled at the group and bared his teeth in a sneer when the Prime took aim at him. "Oh yes, Prime," he taunted. "By all means, shoot me. This method has thus far proven SO successful after all." The Chaos-Bringer laughed, bringing Starscream's arm back to send another wave of flames at them, when Optimus pulled the trigger and hit him right in the spark.

At first, Unicron felt nothing, actually smirking at the others and their feeble attempts to stop him. But then, his eyes widened. Something was wrong. The body was weakening and Starscream's spark casing was beginning to crack. He could feel trace amounts of spark energy leaking from it and he coughed, iridescent blue fluid bubbling up over his lips and spattering on the ground. Every amount of damage inflicted upon the body was beginning to take it's toll. 

Unicron took deep, gasping breaths, claws gripping at the edge of the desk while he tried to sustain the body and reverse the damage, but then he felt it. The familiar feeling of a fragile casing being strained beyond it's means. 

The spark was about to burst.

Unicron glared at the Prime. "If you think that this is the last time we will meet, then you are sadly mistaken, Son of Primus." 

And with that, Unicron vacated the body.

Optimus glared right back, though he knew the God had already left. "Looking forward to it." He turned to the others, about to sigh in relief when he saw the look on their faces and couldn't help but glance back towards his desk again.

Starscream. Starscream was still standing.

Powerglide held his breath, completely speechless as he watched Starscream open his eyes. 

Red. They were red again.

"...Powerglide?" the Seeker asked, confused as he stared at the group that seemed to be giving him an equally confused look.

Soundwave and the Prime just stared at each other. Was this supposed to be happening? And if so...oh no...

It wasn't but a second later that Starscream collapsed, a puddle of red as bright as his eyes quickly surrounding him.

Powerglide screamed. One second. For one second he'd had this feeling of disbelief wash over him. This feeling that Primus had really come through for him. And then a second later? That disbelief turned into horror. Prowl tried to hold him back but he forced his way out of the other's hands in his panic, rushing over to the fallen Seeker.

"Starscream? Star!? STARSCREAM?!" Powerglide pulled the other up into his arms and shook him. He didn't care about the blood. He just wanted his Seeker back. 

Slipstream slowly made her way over to the other, tear streaks running down her cheeks as she lay a hand on Powerglide's shoulder. She pointed to her brother's eyes. 

Grey. They were grey now.

He truly was gone.

The Autobot sniffed and closed Starscream's eyes with a nod, holding him tightly in his grief as he stared up at her. "This wasn't supposed to happen. He shouldn't be the one dead. We were going to bond." His voice cracked and he broke down again. 

Slipstream's eyes widened at the news and she sank to her knees, arms wrapped around the grief-stricken flyer as she cried her own eyes out for her lost brother.

Optimus turned to Prowl as they watched, spark breaking a little at the sight. "I must confess," the Prime said, troubled by what they'd seen. "I no longer know now if it was us that ended Starscream's life, or Unicron."

Prowl shook his head, unwilling to dwell on the thought that they might have been tricked once again by the Chaos-Bringer. The only way he knew how to respond in this situation was to call Ratchet and have him come down to retrieve the body of their fallen comrade.


End file.
